WTF with Marc Maron Podcast - Episode 1417 - O'Shea Jackson Jr.

Episode Date: March 13, 2023

O’Shea Jackson Jr. grew up around music with Ice Cube as a father. But it was a school teacher who set his mind toward making movies. O’Shea and Marc talk about the idea of Ice Cube versus the reality of Ice Cube as a dad and now as a grandfather. They also talk about the two-year process he went through to win the part in Straight Outta Compton, the Twitter coincidence with Aubrey Plaza that opened acting doors for him, and what it felt like to tell Obi-Wan Kenobi that his next job was Cocaine Bear. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show archives and weekly bonus material! https://plus.acast.com/s/wtf-with-marc-maron-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Death is in our air. This year's most anticipated series, FX's Shogun, only on Disney+. We live and we die. We control nothing beyond that. An epic saga based on the global bestselling novel by James Clavel. To show your true heart is to risk your life. When I die here, you'll never leave Japan alive. FX's Shogun, a new original series, streaming February 27th exclusively on Disney+. 18 plus subscription required. T's and C's apply.

Lock the gates! all right let's do this how are you what the fuckers what the fuck buddies what the fuck nicks what's happening i'm mark maron this is my podcast today i talked to o'shea jackson jr he played ice cube in the movie straight out of compton he's also ice cube's son he's also been in den of thieves long shot with seth rogan the star wars series obi-wan kenobi and he's in uh he's in cocaine bear which is in theaters now i did not ever talk to his father his father was supposed to come at some point, then cancel. We don't know why. But this is Ice Cube's son.

And we had a great talk. We had a good time. Laughs. Nice pace. Talked about his relationship with Cube. And then as he was walking out, I said, tell your dad to do the show. Is it the Jewish thing? Tell him I'm one of

the good ones. And O'Shea laughed and then said, we'll leave it at that. So I don't know. I don't know. I don't know if that was the best parting shot, but it happened. It happened, but it was an enjoyable conversation. So what is going on? Well, first of all, I'm still doing this vegan thing. And as I told you guys, I got a little strung out on the cigars. And I knew it was happening, but it happened. I got strung out. You can only justify that it's vegetation for so long.

And I got hopped up on nicotine and I got addicted to fucking nicotine. So I had to get off of those. So the last three or four days, I just went cold turkey. I was smoking at least one cigar a day, you know, and that's a lot of nicotine. You're not inhaling them, but you're absorbing that shit. So I had to deal with the goddamn nicotine Jones. I had to deal with the nicotine little, uh, the nicotine withdrawal, which is not nothing. You get pretty fidgety. You drop things. You're a little like jerkish,

uh, easily aggravated. Um, but I knew what was going on. It's interesting to have lived a life and been through so many different types of withdrawal or had enough experience with certain types of addiction. Uh, it could be sugar, anything, anything that jacks that dopamine up. And then once it's pulled out, you got to reckon with that. And I was pretty cool about it. So I think I'm out of the woods in terms of physical addiction. Now I just have to, you know, not romanticize the fucking things. My idea around those is like, I'm not a regular cigar guy.

You know, I'm not a cigar bro. I'm a guy that enjoys a drug and I'll do it by myself on my porch and just sit there and get sweaty and nauseous alone. And I don't inhale, but it gets in there and I was having a hard time breathing. So I kicked. I'm day four kicking always.

It's, it's good to stay busy and there's no better way to stay busy than to get compulsive about something Maybe get addicted to it and then take it out of your life makes things Just exciting and you don't know you can't trust your emotions for a few days. Yeah Never a dull moment and it's not like i'm not doing stuff you guys. I mean i'm busy I'm, you know, i'm taking trash cans in back and forth. I'm doing laundry. I'm washing dishes.

I'm cooking lentils. You know, I'm playing with cats. I'm cleaning boxes. I'm cataloging things. I'm sending stuff to Goodwill. My days are full. I'm talking to celebrities. I was taking my cans back in when Brooke Shields showed up and offered help.

And I said, no, that's not part of it. This is not part of the experience, Brooke. I'll take this cam back and you and I'll sit down and chat. What a great thing that was, talking to Brooke Shields right here. The show at Largo went great. The band never sounded better. We nailed Warfrat. We did good on Ring of Fire.

We did good on What Goes On. Did beautiful on Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain. Did a nice Hey Joe. Did a nice Blues Jam up front. We didn't get to the George Jones number because I rambled on too long. But I'm talking about my life. And it's weird when I talk about my life

as it currently stands. You know, my relationship with kit, where I'm at mentally, where I'm at with, you know, my, my certain belief around how many fucks I need to give about almost everything at this point. I mean, what am I going to do? I've said my piece and I've said it over and over again. And to some people, it's salve. It makes them feel better. But no joke I do about the reality of impending fascism is going to stop fascism. The jig is up in terms of how we've insulated ourselves into our certain intake universes. And it doesn't matter. you know, intake universes and it doesn't matter. It's not like I'm going to do a joke about fascism and it's going to go viral and all the fascists are going to start crying and realize it's their dads or that they really want dick. You know what I mean? What an amazing joke. Fascists around the world are crying and hugging each other and some of it is ending up in fairly aggressive

but consensual gay sex around the world because of this one Marc Maron joke. Amazing. And a lot of them are just, you know, screaming about their fathers in the midst of fits. What an amazing joke that was. Now we're back to some progressive policy and a more tolerant world. Thank God for

that one Marc Maron joke about fascism. I don't know if that's going to happen. I don't think so. So in light of that, how much do I have to say? What haven't I said? How many times do I got to say it before it's sort of like, I did all I could. I did all I could. And that's not giving up. It's just sort of like, I, there it is. Take it. I'm going to go have a shot at enjoying the atmospheric river. When are planes going to start falling out of the sky?

That's my worry is like, you know, it's like with all this shifting weather, you don't hear a lot about like, you know, I've heard a couple of stories about some massive turbulence. Like it's how much, how long is it going to be before air travel is grounded because of insane weather in the upper levels of the atmosphere? Huh? See now, what did I just do? I just created a new thing to worry about for people who hadn't thought about that. And I have no solution for it because it's over. And I just kind of want to go, you know, sit somewhere and look at pleasant wildlife and water. Do you hear me? Are you hearing me? Is everything all right? Okay. Look, I had a good time talking to O'Shea Jackson, and I think you'll have a good time listening to it. Cocaine Bear is currently playing in theaters, and this is me talking to O'Shea. It's hockey season, and you can get anything you need delivered with Uber Eats.

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Order Uber Eats now. For alcohol, you must be legal drinking age. Please enjoy responsibly. Product availability varies by region. See app for details. Death is in our air. This year's most anticipated series, FX's Shogun, only on Disney+. We live and we die.

We control nothing beyond that. An epic saga based on the global best-selling novel by James Clavel. To show your true heart is to risk your life. When I die here, you'll never leave Japan alive. FX's Shogun, a new original series, streaming February 27th exclusively on Disney+. 18 plus subscription required. T's and C's apply. You're a studio kid.

You spent your childhood sitting at a giant board of knobs. Yeah, not knowing what's going on. Yeah, I can't. Like, I imagine you were just sitting there. Because, I mean, when were you born? 91. So what was he working on then? And when do you first remember sitting there at your dad's, at the board?

Well, it's not the house I grew up in, but the first house that I can remember. Yeah. We had a studio in the backyard. Yeah. I would constantly hear beats of songs that were never made and yeah you know stuff like that yeah but you know loud music is where i'm most comfortable my mom was pregnant with me in the studio with the bass going yeah 808s it's funny man that like i play music but music guys that's all they do all day long.

Yeah. Like, you know, when you say there's a lot of stuff that wasn't released, there's always more stuff. Yeah, always. Because people don't realize that's all they're doing is sitting out there doing that. Yeah. Right?

Every day. My dad, during the pandemic, built a studio in the house so he didn't have to go anywhere. Yeah. And, like, there's no way he's not deaf. Yeah. It's, like, crazy. Shakes the house.

But he loves it? He loves it, man. When he goes on the road, it's different. You know, my dad, to me, yeah jackson yeah ice cube yeah when he gets in his ice cube mode yeah man kid in a candy store i i love when i was 18 my dad took me on the road right and uh i was with my older brother daryl hype man man, built the set. I was part of crew. Broke down the set when it's time to leave. Yeah.

And it's just something about seeing him on stage when he's on one, like when he's in it. Yeah. Man, you could just tell he's the happiest he could be, you know? I love that part of him. Well, there is something about, like, that crew of guys, you know, as they get older and they've branched out, that, you know, whatever that original character was is just part of a spectrum of characters, right?

Right. And they all seem like, you know, I remember when culturally you just start seeing these guys soften up a little bit. You're like, hey. They're not so mad. I mean, my dad, you know, when he was his hottest, one of the most feared humans on the planet Earth.

Right. His best song, like his number one song is Today Was a Good Day. Right, yeah. Like, you know? Right. But I mean, was it, because I'm not like a huge, you know, rap guy.

I know enough. And I like, you were great in the movie. But I think that's where I learned the most about that stuff. You know, you can hear about it and see documentaries about it, but to have it unfold as a narrative, he was happy with it. Was everyone happy with it?

Oh, absolutely. You know, everybody signed off on that thing? Yeah, dude, that was straight out of Compton. I got into acting strictly because of that movie. I was supposed to be a writer. That's what I wanted to do. Wait, so let's go back, though. Like when you're a kid, you got an older brother and two other sibs?

Yeah, I got an older brother, Daryl, and then I got my little sister, Karima, and my little brother, Sheree. How much older is Daryl? Daryl is about four and a half, five years older. Oh, really? Yeah. Wow. Your dad must have been a kid when he had him. But my brother, Daryl, is from a previous relationship with my mom.

Oh, it's from your mom. Yeah. The thing that signed off my whole existence is how Daryl and my dad connected from the jump. Yeah. Like it was, you know, like my mom describes it as magic really they just instantly loved each other and as a lady you when you see that with your kid it's like yeah that's the guy that's the guy for sure they instantly loved each other what's that guy do daryl daryl is he he's on the music side i'm on the movie side my brother's on the music side yeah um he previously

was trying to find artists but anybody who's in that field knows how much of a headache artist can be yeah

but my brother he has a talent I call Daryl the bridge yeah Daryl can get connections to anything

oh yeah you want in you gotta talk to Daryl oh really Daryl will get you in he. Oh, yeah? You want in, you got to talk to Daryl. Oh, really? Daryl will get you in. He's got guys. He connects. He knows the guy.

Wherever he goes, he networks. He's just a beast at that. And so, like, that's what he do. So it's funny. So, like, you guys really kind of grew up in show business in a way. Yeah. So, but, like, your earliest memories, like, I mean, is it, was the, who was the cast of characters? Was Dre around or was that after?

Was he born after? No, nobody really from NWA except for later in life. I had a connection with MC Ren and DJ Yellow. They were on the road a bunch of times. But no, my dad has kind of had the same tight circle. We've lost a couple of members, actually a lot of members. Rest in peace, DJ Crazy Tunes, my Uncle Star, Big Herc. But yeah, it's just my family has been such a tight-knit group.

It wasn't, you know, music videos all the time around the house, you know. Yeah. I think the artists besides my dad that I have the biggest connection with is probably Dub C. Yeah. That's my dad's right-hand man. Oh, yeah? Yeah. And that's your whole life?

Mm-hmm. Yeah. But, like, when you're growing up, because, you know, to pull back the veil a little bit, I mean, like your grandparents are around, right? Or were? Yeah. And they were part of your life? Yeah.

Yeah. And like that was pretty normal, right? You know? Yeah. I just lost my mom's mom, my grandmother Dolores, a little over a year ago. Yeah. Hit the family hard. But, yeah, my grandparents still, they were a major part of my life.

That's okay. Normal life. You know, my dad's just on TV. I know. But you said he's on TV, but he was also, like you said, like the most feared person in the world. Yeah. But, you know, I have to assume, like, he always had a good relationship with his folks, right?

Yeah, absolutely. And they're proud of him and not everything else? Yeah. And he's the baby of his side of the family. So, like, when you're the youngest and you knock it out the park like that, yeah, you're the pride and joy. And I have to, I imagine that, because I'm just drawing this conclusion on my own, because I, look, we're doing this whole wrestling thing.

So we recently went to AEW, and I interviewed Tony Khan and Jericho and Friedman and Cole Cabana, I know. I interviewed Punk years ago. Punk was on my TV show. Punk is a friend of mine. Yeah. Mick Foley, we used to interview all the fucking time. Legend.

Yeah. But I'm just starting to realize that when you're talking about seeing your dad in that zone of when he's Ice Cube, is that there is a wrestling component to it. In the sense that this is the thing, right? That's the character, right? Absolutely. it yeah in the sense that like this is the thing right that's the character right absolutely and like my dad has done an amazing job of staying true to himself so there's a lot of components

of my dad right that make up ice cube but like you know the the idea of ice cube you know it's not the dad i know you know my know, my dad likes to joke around. My dad is goofy as hell. Yeah. He's got jokes for days. Right. Ice Cube don't got jokes. Ice Cube beat your ass.

Right. Right. But it's almost a heel. Yeah. Well, like, hey, he's the dude you love to hate. Right. It is what it is, you know. You got to respect him.

Yeah. So, okay, so you're growing up. How did you decide on writing? Did you go to school for writing? No. I went to Wilbur Elementary and then Patola Middle School. Where's this? Shout out to the Valley people, 818.

And, you know, seventh grade grade my parents had a revelation yeah they just decided la usd sucks and um they just felt like they weren't teaching us the right things or we weren't learning at the pace we should all of you yeah we all went to homeschool and we were under homeschool we were under new York School District, which is like way ahead of LAUSD. Like what do you mean, like under New York School District? Like we had the school for young performers is the homeschool program that we were under. Oh, I see. And the curriculum was under New York School District.

So I'm learning things that my friends aren't, you know, LAUSDA-U-S-D, you're going to repeat the same thing for about four or five years. But they're just trying to keep you, like, you know, out of the streets. Exactly. It's like their job to just. You're going to be a modern citizen. Yeah. But, yeah, so I had homeschool and I had. What does that mean?

Your mom just oversaw? No, no, no. We had a principal. We had teachers that come in every day. And yeah, my school was the pool house. Only chick at school was my sister. It was whack. I hated it.

Yeah. And then I learned- Yeah, your social life. Yeah, exactly. Because I went in at seventh grade, I already had friends and things that I could go to parties. You could go complain about homeschool. Exactly. To your friends.

But the two teachers that I had in homeschool changed my life forever. Oh, yeah? Who were they? A guy by the name of Hernan De La Alve. What did he teach? Everything. When you got a homeschool teacher, they teach every period. But, like, what are you learning from your old man, you know, in terms of life versus what you learned from this guy?

Because these are the two influences, and they both seem pretty stable. Well, you know, standard dad talk. Okay. Lessons. Yeah. Well, you know, standard dad talk. Okay. Lessons.

Yeah. You know, when you mess up, you're about to get a whole little, you know, just lecture. But there were certain things that, you know, like as a dad, you don't think to talk about. I'm a dad now. Yeah. So, like, you know, I got a five-year-old, and I have to figure out how to make this little lady a modern citizen. Yeah. Just like L.A. U.S.P. But what Hernan taught me was movies.

Yeah. Oh, really? Yeah, he taught me to look at films that I wouldn't normally look at. Yeah. He showed me, in class, he showed me Patton. He showed me Dr. Strangelove. He showed me in class, he showed me Patton. He showed me Dr. Strangelove. He showed me Rushmore. He showed me things that normally I wouldn't look at,

but he told me, dude, you have to check this out. Patton. That's an interesting one. And from there, I kind of got a feeling for, oh, Blazing Saddles also. Yeah. I kind of got a feel for cinema from there. Yeah. And one day in class, I was a heavy daydreamer.

I daydream all day. Yeah. And he threw my notebook down on the desk and said, write whatever you're thinking about because you're not here right now. Interesting. Yeah. And I started writing. And I wrote a 120 120 page handwritten story.

Yeah. And he let me do that for 30 minutes a day in class. Just, all right, write your story. And he was the agreement that you would pay attention after that. Yeah. Yeah. You know, you got to have a barter. Yeah.

So from there he read it and he says, you ever thought about writing? Like, you know, this is really good. You ever thought about making film? Yeah. No. And he goes, that's literally what your dad does, and you've never thought about it? Yeah.

No. So from there, he got me, I got a teacher, Bill Rubenstein, who taught me how to write scripts. Bill Rubenstein? Who's that guy? You know? Where'd you get him? I just know him as bill rubenstein

was he a homeschool guy yeah he showed up you know uh after i was done with school bill would come in and who hired him my parents um i forget who like told us about him but shout out to bill rubenstein without you i wouldn't have got to college yeah and um i had another teacher, Rochelle Nondorf. I love you to death, Rochelle, wherever you are from Racine, Wisconsin. Yeah. She gave me a journal. And on the front of the journal, it had a quote from Henry David Thoreau. Yeah. Go confidently in the direction of your dreams and live the life that you've imagined. And I have held that thing since I was 17, bro. That is my quote. That's what I do. So, like, without them showing me,

I wouldn't have known that I'm good at writing. Most people don't know what they're good at because it comes easy to them. They're not thinking about it. Or they just give up. Yeah. You give up because you're not looking in the right place. Or you don't know.

You don't know what you don't know. That's right. You know, and it's like, like, I hate writing, personally. It is a headache. I've written a lot, you know, but like, you know, I've written a couple books and some scripts for my shows or whatever, but I never wrote, like, I never saw it as my job. Right. Or I never wanted to because it is the most tedious fucking, like, to sit there and have to write is a fucking nightmare for me. You literally have to make time out the day.

Yeah, and then once you get going, you discover things about yourself that you didn't know. Right? Especially if you're journaling. You're like, oh, my God, I never put this together because it comes together on the page. And it's sort of great. You know what I mean? But to get there, it's just a lot of time yeah that makes me mad when you have like inspiration yeah it's the man if i could bottle that yeah you know you'd be a billionaire well what you're

writing though in your journal you're writing about yourself but the stories and stuff yeah it was the journal i had filled with oh that's a good idea okay oh that's a good word well yeah i do that with jokes you know i mean i write you know bits ideas down sometimes they're ridiculous and i don't know i don't even know what i meant by them like yeah if you don't write it in detail everybody who like creates knows that feeling of oh i'll remember sure yeah just i'll just put this word down know, just put like pears. And you're like, what the fuck is that? Right.

Yeah. Wait. Quick, quick story. Yeah. One of my favorite Beatles stories. When the Beatles were, when they discovered marijuana. Yeah, yeah. Sure.

When they called it marijuana. Yeah. Paul McCartney, he came up with the meaning of life. Oh, yeah. And he wrote it down on a piece of paper and gave it to the security guard. It was like, show me this because I'm not going to remember. Yeah. So the next day, he gets the piece of paper.

Yeah. And the piece of paper says, there are seven levels. Yeah. What the hell does that mean? It might be true But we're never gonna know You gave no detail I'll remember

But your dad must have been writing all the fucking time Constantly This is like sadly One of the problems I have With rap in general is like I'm sort of a riff guy I'm like a melody guy I'm like a music guy I know when something's catchy But I get exhausted if I have to listen to words too much.

On a podcast. I know. I know. Like, I'm playing music now, and I'm playing songs I've known my whole life, but I don't know the fucking words. Isn't that weird? Come on, man. I know, dude.

You don't know the words no i gotta learn the words i know i'm kinda but they're not they're kind of wrong right you know but yeah but rap is so decisive yeah and i you know but it's like when i listen to it i gotta really listen to there's nothing easy about it no no you know yeah but i imagine if you grew up with it and if that's the way the brain works yeah that's what my ear always had right and when i would when a song would get in my head when i was a kid and you know i'm i'm rapping it in the house my mom would tell me uh do you know what that means do you know what you just said no she ruined rough riders anthem uh for me because she told me, you know, you're singing about robbing people.

Yeah. I'm sorry. You know, I just like DMX, mom. Yeah. But isn't that part of it? Yeah. But she just likes, she taught me at five years old, pay attention to what you're saying. Yeah.

Listen to what people are saying. Buzz kill. Important lesson. Yeah, sure. You know, it's a parent thing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Listen to what people are saying. Buzz kill. Damn. Important lesson. Yeah, sure. You know, it's a parent thing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I can't wait to be a buzz kill for my daughter.

Yeah, yeah. I'm going to ruin everything. To save her. Yeah. Right? But it's funny, though, like, you know, being growing up around, you know, what you grew up around, that your life-guiding quote is throw. Yeah. You know?

That's something that, you know, someone like your dad wrote you know he had some good ones henry david throw my uh i just asked on twitter yeah what's one thing that your parents used to say that you say to people now yeah my thing is yusta is a rooster that don't crow no more. If you ever hear somebody say, oh, yeah, we used to be. Oh, yeah, I used to. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Eustace is a rooster that don't crow no more. Where'd you get that one? My mom.

Where'd she get it? I have no idea. That sounds like some old-timey shit. That is like, it's deep, but it's true every time. Yeah, shoulda, woulda, coulda. What's something that your parents, that you took on? What time are you going to be home? Turn off the light. Call if are you going to be home? Turn off the light.

Call if you're going to be late. I don't know if there was much wisdom coming down from my parents. A lot of orders. Well, barely. Another one was like, do you need dessert? That's probably the...

That's such a shot to the ribs. You need that? Exactly. Are you sure? Yeah, I got that a lot from my mother. That's the wisdom. You don't need to eat that. Yeah, come on.

Yeah, come on, chunky. Got to keep that self-esteem low, baby. That's right. That's what they did. That's how I was brought up. I don't recommend it. All right, so you're gung-ho writing? Right now?

No, I mean then. So what'd you end up doing? So you went to college to study writing? Yeah, I went to USC. Oh, really? Yeah, screenwriting. Really? Yeah.

And you did the whole thing? The whole shebangabang. And then in the middle of my second year, I'm at my parents' house eating cereal, as one does. Yeah. And my dad comes in the kitchen he goes hey so um they're taking this nwa movie pretty serious and i'm like cool dad i'm happy for you yeah yeah and he goes no um in a perfect world i would want you to play me. And in my mind, I'm like, oh. You know, no disrespect to filmmakers out there.

It's not a lot of good rap biopics. Oh, really? It wasn't even that you were flattered to play dad. It's like, there's no way this movie is going to be good. Yeah, it's like, oh. And I was like, okay, who's making it? Universal Studios. Oh, that's a big deal. Okay. You know, I'm a guy off the couch. Yeah. He Oh, that's a big deal. Okay.

You know, I'm a guy off the couch. Yeah. He goes, you'll have to audition. I said, please make me audition. But did you ever do music? You did, right? Yeah, I did for a hiccup, maybe two years. Just because you felt like you had to?

Yeah, just because that was a way for me to use that writing side that I have to be clever. Oh, right. So you did a record or two? Yeah, I did a mixtape. That was a way for me to use that writing side that I have to be clever. Oh, right. So you did a record or two? Yeah, I did a mixtape. That was it. I did two songs with my dad. Oh, you did.

You did two songs with him? I did two songs with my dad. Me and my brother were on both those songs. We performed them on tour with him and that type of stuff. But once the door was open for acting, I took that. But was your dad, how was he with the music? He would, I would do it on my own and not tell him. Yeah.

And the engineer would be like, hey, you should check this out. And from there, he was like, you should do a mixtape. All right, you should do, like he kind of got on board right my parents are super supportive right if you see the direction you want to go yeah they'll help yeah but you just got to know what you're doing right you got to know that that's what you want to do right but did he uh did he did he add to it and like was there yeah Yeah. Hold on. Let me tell you how he added to it. He gave me the worst name in rap history. Oh, really? Because I have no idea why.

Back in the day, there was a thing called And One Mixtape, okay? What is mixtape culture? Educate me because I'm like. Mixtape is just like an unsanctioned album or movie. Like you make a tape. Like you can make a mixtape of your highlights if you're an athlete. Right. You can make a mixtape of songs that aren't licensed if you're an artist.

Right. So a mixtape is literally a mix of your, you know, whatever you do. Right. And you put it out. And so, and one mixtape was Streetballers. It's not, you know, the NBA. It's literally people going out to outdoor courts and just doing, you know, basketball. Yeah.

And at the time, the cool thing to do was to have a basketball nickname. My basketball nickname was Oh My Goodness. You do something, people yell Oh My Goodness. That's what it was. My dad goes on the Ellen Show and tells people that my rap name is OMG because my basketball name was Oh My Goodness. And he, from the jump, ruined i there's no way you could make that name cool you know yeah and i tried to run with it and it just flamed out i'm like no i'm

not wasting my time he cursed you cursed me from the jump because he don't know no better text culture he didn't get he didn't but in his mind yeah he put me on the Ellen show you know he put my name on there but dad dad it's not

did you explain to him no you just let it go so listen as a son you know sometimes you gotta just let your dad

do his thing and but it was a gift cause it kept it stopped the music career it it fueled my fire yeah

you know I gotta do something cool now because but did you like doing the music yeah it it fueled my fire yeah you know i gotta do something cool now because but did you like doing the music yeah it's fun to me yeah you know um to have to come up with something clever and to get oohs and ahs that drives me yeah yeah and um yeah went straight out of compton when he you know the opportunity presented so here so he comes in he says i want you to do it and you're like please make me audition yeah no disrespect once again you're gonna but you know coppola's daughter and godfather three i didn't want that oh yeah and you'd never acted before no i got an aee and drama in middle school in high school what does that mean i like uh you

got out of it you got an a and then you got an E for effort and an E for cooperation. Oh. Like, that was it. Yeah. You know? And so,

the director of Straight Outta Compton, Gary Gray, in my mind, Mark, in my mind, Gary Gray was, he directed Today Was a Good Day.

Yeah. And my dad goes, you ever thought about directing a movie? And then Gary Gray's first film is Friday. Yeah. So when Gary Gray is directing Straight Outta Compton, I see this full circle thing. Yeah, he's going to be, you know.

Yeah. My dad tells him, hey, I want my son to play me. Yeah. Gary Gray goes, Cubist, this is a joke. Yeah. Damn.

Yeah. I auditioneded he saw something yeah and he got me my acting coach aaron spicer and for two years straight yeah i had to fight for that role and so but what how does it turn into something you want to do from something you just wanted to fail out of because what during those two years remember i i was in my second year of college when he told me about this i being an idiot asked him if i could leave school if i'm going to do this he said you got to make it work if you make it work all right who's that your dad yeah yeah so i didn't think it was going to take two years for me to get the role. So you're just going to school and doing your shit?

No. I left. I was like, I'm going to give it everything, every ounce, everything I got. I'm going to go into this role. To be your dad. Basically. Yeah. So in that time, in two years, I'm seeing all my friends graduate college on Instagram.

And you're just trying to be your dad and I'm like dude if I don't make this work I'm an idiot yeah I'm an idiot because you got to go back then it's so it became uh we can't fail yeah we have no other option we have to make this work and for about 11 years now I've been making it work but who's that guy spicer oh aaron spicer that's my acting coach he uh he worked with the rock he worked with uh will smith nicole kidman he's a dude from brooklyn who could teach you how to act so you never took any acting no so what i didn't want to act i wanted to be rich not famous but you wanted to be rich, not famous. But you wanted to write. Yeah, on the other side of the camera. Did you go finish that shit? What? The school?

No, I'm not going back. I'm famous now, Mark. All right. But the, all right, so how do you start doing that work? I mean, because you think like, you know, when I see you in the movie. Yeah. Like, to me, it's like, well, if you got to to study your subject you just go in the other room yeah he's sitting there it's it's a mixture of making it believable and not doing an impression

well that's the trick of any bio thing you know and it's like that's the whole trick you know like I think Jamie did it with Ray you know and that was the hardest one. Yeah. I mean, like that was the great success of that thing. Amazing. Because that's such an easy impression to do for certain people. Yeah, but Jamie wanted to act. Yeah. I had no, I'm coming off the couch. Okay, so you're coming off the couch and you're going to work on it.

Yeah. So what's this guy, you get hooked up with Spicer through who? Through Gary Gray. Oh, through the director. Yeah, Gary Gray. So what does he start telling you? on it yeah so what's this guy you get hooked up with spicer through who uh through gary gray oh through the director yeah so what does he start telling you give me some acting lessons yeah he um what aaron taught me was how to kind of simplify things where you would read you know something on the script like yeah like uh uh the scene where I want to take the contract out of the room, but Jerry won't let me. I have to convince Jerry to let me. So what he would do, can I cuss on here?

Yeah. All right. So what Aaron would do was, all right, so you got to convince this dude to do something that he doesn't want to do. So think about hitting on a girl. Yeah. Think about like, you know, trying to get some from a chick who probably out your league or whatever. Yeah. And approach it like that.

So he would teach me different ways to look at scenes but get the same uh result that you need and that type of stuff i i use to this day figuring out your needs yeah and just a situation that you've done a thousand times in your life it's the same energy so bring it right here right that's acting and then like well you had the benefit of looking kind of like him. Mm-hmm. That was, hold on. We had a screen test, okay, which is they bring in some dudes that they got that they think that they want to have in the film, and they test you on camera to see if that's what they want. So I'm thinking I'm just going to show up here.

It's going to be me, somebody playing Dre, somebody playing Eazy. I come in. There's a dude with a jerry curl and a Raider hat on. I say, hey, what's going on, man? I'm O'Shea. You going for Eazy? He looks at me and goes, no, I'm going for Cube. Yeah.

So now I'm like, hold on. Hold on. Y'all all going for Q in the same room? From there, I'm O'Shea Jackson Jr. Nice to meet you, bro. I'm frowning all day, Mark. I mean, just full on. You're not about to take this from me.

Look at my face. Yeah, you're done. Beat the traffic, bro. Get out of here. Yeah. So, yeah, you know, a little bit of my advantage. So you got the attitude because of that. Yeah, a chip on my shoulder.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And when you've been working on something for two years, it's not a lot anybody can tell you. Two years? Two years. Why did it take, what was it, who were they having a hard time casting? I wish you could tell me, bro.

You don't know? Because I'm like, I'm nervous. You know, know i'm going three four months in between auditions yeah is this working yeah can somebody tell me what's your dad saying he's like yeah just stay focused just stay ready dad i don't need that cliche bullshit right now can you give me some information? And, yeah, I mean, it worked out. I can't imagine. I can't imagine it. Stress. Yeah. Because if I don't get it, I'm an idiot.

Yeah. Everybody's going to just shit on me. But if you didn't get it, you know, it wouldn't have been terrible. I would have hated it. First of all, if I didn't get straight out of Compton, I'm sorry, Dad. I wouldn't have saw the movie. Yeah. I'm never going. I'm never going.

I'm never going. But it would have been, on some level, you ended up nailing it. But on some level, it's like, if you didn't get it, it'd be like, okay. Because then who knows who would have cast it? It might have fucked the whole movie up. Right. But I rolled the dice and convinced my dad to let me leave school. I had no other way.

Like, what am I going to do? Yeah. What am I going to do? Yeah. And when you're shooting am I going to do? Yeah. What am I going to do? Yeah. And when you're shooting it, was he around? Yeah. Oh, my God. Like, just to see him smile or, like, joke or, like,

he was just having the time of his life. Watched you do it? Yeah. He loved him, Dre, Ran, Yella. They were just laughing on the side, like having the time of their lives. And yeah, that's like the best pat on the back you can have. But did they say like, no, this is what happened?

No, no. First of all, to me, I've heard these stories my whole life. I've got details that's not in the script that I'm doing an improv. Right, right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, like, there's nothing you can tell me. Right, right, right.

I was in pocket. Yeah, right. Yeah, right. You were. But, like, the cat who's playing Dre, did Dre tell him, like, you know, did he give him anything? I mean, you know, there's a couple of times. Or even Snoop, that kid. Oh, my God.

Shout out to Lakeith. Yeah. Lakeith stanfield yeah that dude is a actor yeah yeah he is a thespian yeah yeah like no joke yeah was he talking to snoop i don't know how he did it but that one spot that he had yeah he stole the show it was just impressive and he would be on set like with his laptop, minding his business, just focused. And now he's Keith Stanfield. What a beast.

He is. Yeah, man. Do you get along with him? I mean, absolutely. Yeah. You know, when I see him out, straight out of Compton, that's our little fraternity. You know, SOC all day.

Was that like his first big movie too? It might be. No disrespect, Lakeith. I don't be checking people i his resume yeah you don't know his resume yeah that's where i met you so that's your first movie yeah yeah that was crazy so like it's so it's so great that they were all into it and giamatti like oh my god how crazy was it working with that guy i love love that dude. He's great. That's a good guy, man. Yeah. Good guy.

He's another monster actor, man. Yeah. And was, you know, he's the seasoned veteran on set, you know? Sure, yeah. And was open, just very welcoming. And, you know, he could have easily been a dick, but it's just not in his nature. Paul Giamatti, wherever you are, I love you, dude.

What about shooting that thing where, you know, the video where your dad's saying that shit about Jews and stuff? Was your dad standing there for that? First of all, my dad's there every day. Okay. You're talking about the— By the pool, right? Yeah, by the pool. All right, a deleted scene from there that's crazy.

Yeah. I pick myself up. Like, there scene from there that's crazy. Yeah. I pick myself up. Like there's a little actor playing me. Yeah. Like the real me. Oh, great. And I pick up me as a kid, and it was just the craziest moment ever. You don't know what it's like to walk into a house that you've never been in before

and to see pictures of your family everywhere. Wow. That was straight out of Compton. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Insane. That's like, well, I'm glad that all worked out. Yeah. So now you're like an actor guy.

Yeah, I'm an actor guy. Now the expectations are on you. Yeah. Can he do something that's not his dad? Yeah. And I got a lot of that after straight out of Compton was, of course he did well. He's not his dad. Yeah. And I got a lot of that after Straight Outta Compton was, of course he did well. He's playing his dad. Well, you got some, like, I see like this whole Nepo baby thing, I don't buy it.

I don't buy any of it. What don't you buy? Well, I got a plumber who's like, and sons. I mean, why aren't they busting that guy's balls? Right. You know, shut the fuck up. Nobody cares about Fred Sanford's son. Exactly.

Running a junkyard. Yeah, I mean, it's like, come on. Yeah. Like, every goddamn business in any family. Yeah. It's like, and sons, and family. It's like, shut up. Why not?

It's right. It's just that, you know, if you've got the gift, like, look, man, and the truth is, it's not everybody fits on that screen. No. And if you don't, it ain't going to happen for you. Right. But it's like, look, man, and the truth is, it's not everybody fits on that screen. No. And if you don't, it ain't going to happen for you. But it's like, if you got a shot at the family business, take it. I've seen plenty of dudes fail. I can't tell you how many brothers of stars have tried stand-up comedy,

and you're like, oh, God. I mean, I think there's four rocks working right now. Oh, my God. There's Tony Rock. Yep. There's another rock. That's a comic. His cousin, Sherrod, I know from New York.

They're funny, but, I mean, it's like, dude, give it a whirl. Just try it. Yeah. Swing for the fences. If you've got the craft in place, you can pull it off. People have been passing down pizzerias for generations. That's right. Nobody's mad at them.

And I'll tell you, the biggest liability of it is when the older customers come in. It's like, I don't want to talk to you. Where's your father? Right? Exactly, man. Exactly. So what was the next movie? I don't know if I saw it.

After Straight Outta Compton, I didn't get work for a year. Really? And I was confused. I had the number one movie in the country, Oscar nominated. I'm thinking my phone is about to blow up. And for a year, I didn't get anything. And that's when I knew, like, I'm in it. Because you played your dad.

Yeah. You know, they had no expectations of me. No one was asking you to play your dad in a movie your dad did. We're doing Anaconda 2. We're doing Saturday. Yeah, so, like, I had to go get it. You know, I had to find, you know, something. I switched up agency.

Shout out to WME. and my next movie was a movie called ingrid goes west yeah and how i got that movie is i'm trying to remember that movie it's a it's an indie you know indie route it's on hulu check it out um but yeah aubrey plaza movie yeah i met aubrey at some hoi no no i didn't even get to meet her yeah we were both at some hoity-toity award show both presenting yeah and i see her across the room in the green room and i'm headed towards her and these old ass ladies come up to me my grandson loves that movie that you're in and i'm like okay you know you want to take the fucking picture like let's do it yeah so i take the picture with the ladies i look up aubrey plaza is gone i go on twitter and i'm like well i just almost met aubrey plaza so you know that's a good look yeah aubrey

plaza sees that dms me yo i got this movie i need you to be in it. Just be in it. So that's not really how business happens. You know, let's check it out. You know, here's my number. Let's set up a meeting. Yeah. So she hits me and I text her back. It's Batman. I have no idea why I said that.

I just love Batman. Yeah. She goes, okay, great. I'm like, all right. So we have the meeting. And in the bar that we were in, wherever we're having this meeting, we both didn't know the place. Yeah. She goes, okay, great. I'm like, all right. So we have the meeting. And in the bar that we were in, wherever we're having this meeting, we both didn't know the place. Yeah.

So she's like, how do you like the script? I said, you didn't send it to me. She goes, what do you mean I didn't send it to you? You thought it was going to be Batman? No, I just said, bro, I'm crazy. I literally just said, hey, it's Batman. Yeah. She goes, well, I definitely sent you the script,

or why else would you say Batman? I said, if you sent me the script, tell me my email right now. From there, I found out that Dan Pinto, the dude that I'm playing in the movie, is obsessed with Batman. So she thought I read the script and was like, I'm him. Tells the director, tells the producers, he's on board. He likes Batman. And I never read

the script. It was just too coincidental, so I took the movie. But that movie got different eyes on me. That movie got to Sundance. I got to go to Sundance for the first time. Variety had me in the top ten performances at Sundance. And got to go to Sundance for the first time. Variety had me in the top ten performances at Sundance. And it got

new eyes on me. And that gets the buzz. And so straight out of Compton, you know, opened the door. Ingrid Goes West, it made people realize, oh, he's serious. This is what he wanted to do. He's in a movie where he's not playing his dad.

Yeah. And there's a lot more white people in this movie. Exactly. This seems safe. I'm going to check this out. This is a movie for all of us. Shout out to Neon. They made the movie.

Yeah. They bought the movie. And then Longshot was funny. So how'd that fucking come about? Longshot was funny. So how'd that fucking come about? Longshot was a pleasant surprise. I'm a big fan of Seth Rogen. I thought that movie was pretty good. And you were good in it.

Yeah. Yeah. Solid. Yeah. Lionsgate, you didn't promote the movie well. Yeah. We can't just have commercials on Hulu. Get it out there.

Yeah. Seth, Charlize, I love y'all charlize the rome by the way best oh my god i'll do anything for that lady yeah so nice to me too yeah like first day sat next to me cussing and shit just like the homie yeah love charlize what a fucking actress though man what a piece of royalty yeah no shit like that monster movie? Yeah. What the fuck? What a beast. No kidding. And I'm, you know, Charlize, I'm sorry, but I got to say, I am mad as fuck at this Mad

Max spinoff that doesn't have Charlize. Yeah. I was so pissed for her. Why didn't it have her, I guess? I have no idea. But I texted her immediately. I was like like you're not furiosa she was like no they they went a different direction a different direction i was like that's

bullshit wow not my home girl so but that was fun so the comedy's starting to happen i made a conscious decision yeah that i wanted to do dramatic before i got into comedy comedy is what i would want to do uh who don't love to laugh right you know and it's gotta be a good script though right oh absolutely yeah absolutely but you're good at it yeah it's my natural thing it is a quick wit yeah i grew up on a tour bus with people talking shit all day you have to be quick on your feet. So you were on tour when you were a kid? Yeah. Like what, 10, 9, 8? Two.

Two? Yeah, I've been on tour buses my whole life. Since my whole life. Who's on tour? Who's on the bus? Obviously my pops, Dub C. Yeah. As I said earlier, Crazy 2.

Yeah. Big Hurt, Keebo. Yeah. And they all are, like, when I say it's a tight-knit group, they are a family. Yeah. And brothers talk shit on each other. They bag on each other. So you have to be quick.

If you are not quick, you will not survive. Yeah. And it is what it is. So, like, naturally, you have to be able to bounce off people yeah so when it comes to like improv somebody throwing something at me naturally yeah you can do it i got you and like did your mom take all the kids on the bus yeah everybody gotta go bro what'd you where you gonna go get your ass on this bus so your dad wanted everybody on the bus.

Yeah. And that was another thing about being homeschooled was the teachers could travel with us. So when my dad is gone doing a movie, we ride with him. Oh, so they were only teaching you. Yeah. You're coming to Baltimore because my dad's filming Triple X, so get in the car. And what is it? Didn't you do, how many barbershops are there?

Three. Three. Three. That was a big one. Yeah. That was a big franchise. Anytime you get a two, a three, yeah. Yeah, but didn't he produce that from the beginning? More than likely.

He's got his red pin on most films that he's in. So now that gets us, you didn't do a lot of TV, but now you're part of the fucking Star Wars. Absolutely. Shout out to little kid, Shay. He would be so happy. TV, but now you're part of the fucking Star Wars. Absolutely. Shout out to little kid, Shay. He would be so happy. Yeah, how'd you get that fucking thing? Ingrid Goes West.

Oh, the white people. Don't you love them? I'm shooting season one of Swagger. Yeah. And this basketball show. I was on apple tv um and my agents call me and they'll say dude we need you to be available wednesday at noon yeah okay yeah why what's going on we can't tell you just be available yeah all right so i'm available uh i've got the zoom little code yeah and i meet with a lady named a lady named Deborah Chow, who I love to death.

And she's talking to me. From where? Where's she from? She did stuff on The Mandalorian. Like, she's in that, like, Star Wars. Yeah. And, yeah, she's talking to me. And she goes, yeah, you know, we're doing the Obi-Wan Kenobi series.

Immediately, I'm like, oh, my God. There's no way yeah this conversation's happening yeah i'm like all right we gotta kill this audition bro yeah and she starts going um yeah so you know we have obi-wan kenobi he's down uh on his luck a little bit he's lost his touch with the force and she's telling me like detail yeah and i'm like i don't think this lady should be telling me this shit right now like i didn't sign an nda yeah nothing you're just being very open yeah and at the end of the meeting i'm like okay so you gonna send me some sides like is it a self-tape she goes no uh you got the part i'm like yeah just like that she goes yeah i saw a film that you did angry goes west and you showed enough range that I think would be perfect

for this character. Yeah. I'm like, fuck yeah, Debbie Chow. Absolutely, man. 100%. I'll be there. Yep. I'm playing basketball right now.

Yeah. Oh, and I couldn't tell anybody for a year and a half, but I was just at work smiling. At the doing the- Smiling. Doing your part in Obi-Wan. I'm in Star Wars, bro. Yeah. What is your partner?

I play Roken, Kaolan Roken, who is the, pretty much the leader of the first division of the rebellion. Yeah. You know, the rebellion that we come to know later on in Star Wars. Sure. The first chapter of that is known as the path. Yeah. And I'm the leader of the path.

Oh, great. So basically like I'm finding Jedi or force sensitive people and getting them away from the empire from the jump. This is like the first time that this is happening. So I'm leader of the path. And is that an ongoing thing or is it done? Listen, I've been waiting for my phone to ring since we wrapped. Yeah.

Listen, Mickey, bro, hire me. I'm waiting, baby. Yeah, these are childhood dreams you're doing. Yeah, come on, dog. So after, like before, now, are you writing anything? Like, are you self-generating? Is there a part of you or is something in the works where you're gonna try to direct or do your own movie or what uh directing i'm gonna hold off on because

directors don't get days off as an actor i love my days off it's like acting is 90 doing nothing you know i'm really good at playing pretend mark yeah okay but i uh yeah i've gotten into writing and in creating again because you know you got some juice that also but i got a five-year-old you know my baby girl is going out into the world now i gotta be home i can't keep having years where I'm six months away from home. I have to be around. I want to be a dad. Yeah. So I have to have checks coming in.

Can't take her on the bus? Can't take her on the set? She just got into school. Okay. Just got into school. If I do the homeschool route, I would crush her. You got one? Yeah.

Yeah. I'm still trying to figure it out, bro. That's okay. I'm not. Don't you add nothing on to me. Do your siblings have kids? Yeah. Yeah. I'm still trying to figure it out, bro. That's okay. I'm not. Don't you add nothing on to me. Do your siblings have kids? No. First grandkids?

The first grandkid? Yeah. What's your dad like with the grandkid? Just pudding. Whatever she wants. Absolutely. When she was like three and we would all be talking in the kitchen and he'd have a meeting, work, she'd look at him and go, no, granddad. Yeah. He'd just hang up. And we would all be talking in the kitchen and he'd have a meeting, work.

She'd look at him and go, no, granddad. He'd just hang up. Absolutely. Click. You're right. But yeah, man, my parents, I don't know what this version of my parents are. Because they say yes to everything. And I got a bunch of no's.

But they're the best grandparents in the world. Super thankful for them. But, yeah, my dad's mush. That's great. Super mush. That's great. But don't you want to think, like, it seems to me, well, maybe in another movie or two, who knows,

that you want to get into that self-production thing, you know? Yeah. Right? Yeah. So you can get a nice piece and then just. Absolutely. What people don't realize is when you see a movie like Straight Outta Compton make $200 million, Shea gets none of that. They've paid me already.

Yeah. They paid me before. Don't you get a little something? Yeah. You get a little bonus. You're not getting no piece of the $200 million. That's all Universal Studios and the producers. You don't get any residuals from sale?

You got to get the forensic lawyer going. You get like, I mean, I've gotten checks for like 15 cents. No, that's not right. And then some checks for $2,500. Right. Like it really varies. But producing, that's what you want to do. Yeah, you got to get a piece.

Didn't your dad have a piece of that movie? Absolutely. But let me tell you something about my dad money. That's not Shay money. Not at all, Mark. Not a piece. It's just enough to keep you going so you can make your own money. He supported the cause to get you there. I'll get the light on for you yeah yeah well when uh my first job yeah uh was a pa on a film my dad did

called are we done yet yeah and uh still not paid there's a case pending yeah and uh it's an internship yeah i'm a pa like yeah you, the walkie, the whole nine, getting there early. My first day, I was so excited because it's like my first job. I'm 15. That's illegal. But I'm 15, and I see my dad come to set. Going to go up to my dad. I'm a working man.

And I'm like, Dad, you know, check me out, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. He looks at me and goes, son, don't talk to talent. And I was like, damn. And he walked off and I just had to stand there. Oh, yeah. Pictures up. Hard knocks. But you know, I mean, the benefit of all that is he gave you that ethic,

the work ethic, but you know, you knew he wasn't going to cut you loose yeah you know we're in a bad egg or anything exactly he's gonna you know he's gonna take care he's gonna show up for his responsibilities right or i'm gonna tell mom oh there you go you had an ally exactly so now cocaine bear Cocaine Bear. We've only got a few minutes. Literally what I came for. The title alone, bro. Yeah. Do you know what it's like to be working on Star Wars and to look at Ewan McGregor and he goes,

so Shay, what are you doing next? Cocaine Bear. Yeah. And he goes, okay. Yeah. Sorry, Obi-Wan. But, well, I talked to Banks about it before. Monster. I love her.

Yeah, she's great. Before it was even out. And I'm like, what is cocaine bear? I mean, but, you know, the marketing campaign is what made the money. Dude. I mean, it was like... That's the power of Universal Studios, baby. But I mean, how are you not going to go see a movie with that goddamn poster?

Thank you. Crazy bear. Cocaine bear bear everybody likes cocaine and bears they go together all the kids they love the cocaine and the bears and the premise i think you know that obviously the real bear died immediately yeah but like you know why not why not make him a crazy ass cocaine bear right jack and rose weren't real y'all went to go see titanic yeah you knew how that shit was going in. Sure, but when you read that script, what was the process of that movie? Once again, Twitter.

I saw Elizabeth Banks gets rights to Cocaine Bear. Immediately I'm clicking that. What is that? Saw was based on a true story. Kinda. The bear ate the cocaine and died yeah but like we don't know what she's doing at the time i don't know what she's doing yeah so i retweeted it and was like take my money i'm you know as a fan i'm gonna go see this movie yeah

yeah yeah she follows me because i'm a popular guy yeah i know and she uh she talked to the higher ups i think we could get Shay. Yeah. She was absolutely right. I'm down to be in this. I remember telling my dad, and he was like, oh, you have to do that. Yeah. Immediate. Did you grow up with that kind of movie?

Do you like that shit? I mean. I'm not sure what it is. A slasher movie? Comedy. What's the genre? Comedy horror. Right.

Comedy horror. Right. Comedy horror. Right. Because it is gruesome. I know. No offense. A little too gruesome. Nah, man. We got to go for it.

Well, I mean, but it looks like they put half the budget into making people die right. I mean, I've seen those movies before, but most of the time you're like, nah, that's silly. But this time it's like, oh my God. Yeah. That's fucking horrible. Shout out to my man, Jesse Tyler Ferguson of Modern Family.

His scene, I was like, this is taking a long time for you to die. Which one was he? He's, he gets, which guy is he? He,

him and Margo. He's the blonde dude. Oh, right. Yeah. Yeah. The nature guy. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The one dude. Oh, right, yeah. Yeah, the nature guy. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

The one who the ranger likes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And she's funny as hell. Oh, my God. Super sweet lady. Margo Martindale. She's so funny and weird. Oh, yeah.

But here's my problem. I don't watch those kind of movies, usually. And I get, okay, the bear's on coke. I get it. But these seem like a lot of nice people are dying for no reason. I mean, that here's the bears on coke i get it but these seem like a lot of nice people are dying for no reason yeah i mean that's what a bear on cocaine would do bro but it's like after a certain point you know once once uh isaiah whitlock takes it i'm like that guy didn't deserve it you know now it's ray leona and i'm so sad yeah you know i'm sad and

it's like is the bear balancing the sadness? The bear got a standing ovation in the premiere, in the finale of the movie. And that's when I knew it was going to be a good one. But ultimately, oddly, in terms of comedy, you had, you know, I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but you had the funniest lines, i'm not you know i don't i don't want to hurt anyone's feelings but you had the the funniest lines really thank you man because like i know the rest of it was supposed to the other guy the the weepy guy he's a good actor that guy oh uh alden yeah alden aaron right yeah that whole dynamic was pretty good with the father and son he wanted out and he's sobbing and then you beat up the three kids in the bathroom and i love the sound of alden crying yeah he's very funny it was it's just so like out of character because if you know

him he's just straight like straight-edge dude just like oh really super professional and immediately all right action and he goes into like this saddest just wail of a cry i dude he's so like you know him his performance in hail ca Caesar was beyond anything I could even imagine. Yeah. I mean, that was crazy good. That's another actor. Yeah. Alden goes to plays.

Yeah. Freak. Yeah. Come on, theater, dude. That's your next thing. Weird ass. No, you got to do theater. I will not.

Why? You're afraid. You're afraid, dude. I didn't want to be an actor, Mark. God, can you give me a chance? Yeah. Well, now you are an actor, and now it's time to take some risks. Enough of this fucking around.

Yeah. I took a risk with a movie called Cocaine Bear, bro. Yeah. How's that going for you? Pretty well. Domestic number one. Do you got a piece of that back end? No.

No. But here's the thing I don't get about these movies, and I know it's just part of the genre, is that there's literally corpses everywhere, and you guys are sort of like, all right, then you drive off. Yeah. And then the family, she's like, everybody okay? As they're going past that lady.

Yeah, Marco. That's her dead body. Yeah. Yeah, bro. I guess it's, maybe I'm too old for that shit. Come on, Marco. What? Don't say that, man. No. You, bro. I guess it's, maybe I'm too old for that shit. Come on, Mark. Don't say that, man. No.

You're as young as you feel. But it is doing well, right? Is it holding up still? It's doing pretty well. Who's going to see it? Kids? America. Kids sneaking in.

Did you talk to, what's his name, about Star Wars? Alden? Funny story about that. Yeah. So when the Han Solo movie was coming out, I auditioned to be Lando Calrissian. And I got four callbacks. Yeah. I've never had this happen.

Yeah. I thought this shit was in the bag. Yeah. And last minute, like out of nowhere, they're like, yeah, you didn't get it and i'm like damn who who got it i'm like well donald glover that's childish gambino yeah donald glover and i love donald glover yeah i hated that motherfucker yeah for like three months straight you got it no music of his fuck that that Atlanta show. Listen, Chyler's going to be known.

I'm a fan, bro. I love you, but I was mad. And to this day, I'm not watching Solo. No. I don't think you're alone, unfortunately. And like Phil Lord and like their producers on Cocaine Bear. Yeah. And they were the first directors of Solo.

And I told him, like, yeah, I caught y'all anyway. I'm here anyway. I mean, that's part of the game, you know, that's got to be difficult. Like, that's why I can never really, like, that's why I always stayed in comedy. I'm acting a bit now, but I never made it in my life because the sort of toughness you have to have around that rejection and not, you know, engaging in resentment. I mean, you're fortunate in that you had other turns

that worked out for you, but I'm a pretty resentful guy. Yeah, I'm petty. Yeah, I'm an unstable, insecure fucker. Bro, I am petty as fuck. Petty Murphy. Petty Roosevelt. Yeah. Like, I'm petty, bro.

Yeah. I didn't see, let me tell you all the movies I didn't get. I didn't see Alien Covenant. I didn't see Coming to me tell you all the movies I didn't get. I didn't see Alien Covenant. I didn't see Coming to America 2. I didn't see. That's okay. I'm sorry. I can break it down for you.

Free Guy. I'm not seeing that. One Night in Miami. None of them shits, bro. Yeah. And you still won't. They don't exist. Because you know what part

you almost have yep but Glover you gotta give it to guys like you know just like like

insanely talented yeah savant like he is like it's troubling how talented he is that dude is exactly where he was

supposed to be yeah it's kind of amazing a creator and yeah I've been a fan when he had he had a a YouTube channel is exactly where he was supposed to be. Yeah, that's kind of amazing. Just a creator. And yeah, I've been a fan. When he had a YouTube channel, Derek Comedy, that was my, and I've been a fan since then.

But I will never, ever see Solo. Yeah. It's funny, because I interviewed him years ago before. Well, I guess it was Community, and I think it was before Atlanta, and he'd done maybe the second childish gambino record or maybe it was just the first one but you know and i he literally introduced me to the world of uh black nerds yeah i didn't i didn't know they existed yeah because we hide we hide you're not around people shit is rough bro is it yeah man You're kind of one, right? I'm absolutely one. I have a diamond PlayStation necklace.

My PlayStation is on pause right now, and I'm halfway across town. I'm a fan of pro wrestling. I watch it weekly. When did that start? Man, my older brother, Daryl. Oh, yeah. Us playing on Sega Genesis. Yeah.

Him teaching me about The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels. And yeah, the Attitude Era, and I just stay with it. Yeah. It is a live soap opera. Yeah. You love it, right? Come on. And you go.

You get to be part of it sometimes, right? Bro, not part of it yet, but I will. See, one of my agents, Brad Slater, is the Rocks agent. So I get in for free 99, Mark. I love that part. I love that for me. Why don't you get in the ring, man? I will.

This is a plan. This is going to happen. Okay. Well, that's something to look forward to. What about, you got any movies coming up other than the Cocaine Bear? Any other ones you're mad about? Any other fourth callbacks that you're waiting on? I'm in the middle of training for Dinner Thieves 2.

Oh, shit. Because you're the only survivor. Who are the new people that are going to die? Hopefully, Gerard Butler. But, like, you know, he's coming to get me yeah uh but yeah they got me training dude and i am miserable what do you got to eat like oh you can do camille and johnny are you doing like full like you can get ripped are you just gonna get lean i'm gonna no they got me doing a bit of both i'm bulking up you know losing weight

and uh it is garbage i am not going to be one of these actors that are like, yeah, man, working out is trash. But how like bulking up? Are you going to get ripped, like rock bulking up, or are you just going to get thick? No, no, no, just like a movie star level. Nobody's trying to be Dwayne. He's been buff since like 95.

I'm chill. But I told them straight up, after this movie, I'm going into animation. Going to work in my pajamas. Haven't you done that? I did that. I did that bad guy's movie.

Yeah. I'm the snake. Bro, I never got to see it. I hear so much about that movie. Just a sleeper how old's your kid five yeah show her the movie

it's funny they like him it's got me and Rockwell and Craig Robinson Awkwafina yeah Craig Robinson is so dope he's so funny

talented too he's funny I love that guy naturally funny too yeah he can't help himself yeah like right when you look at him he's gonna make it die laughing, he's going to make it.

Die laughing. Yeah, he's just one of those guys. Monster. All right, it's great talking to you, man. Thank you, man. That was fun. I'm going to leave now. Yeah, you got to get back to the PlayStation.

And your kid. I'm not going to have this disrespect. How's the tea? Did it work out? It's cold. It's cold now? Yeah. All right.

All right, well, all right, Jen, get out of here. Damn. All right, Cocaine Bear is still playing in theaters, and I like that guy. And I'd like for you to hang out for a minute. Hi, it's Terry O'Reilly, host of Under the Influence. Recently, we created an episode on cannabis marketing. With cannabis legalization, it's a brand new challenging marketing category.

And I want to let you know we've produced a special bonus podcast episode where I talk to an actual cannabis producer. I wanted to know how a producer becomes licensed, how a cannabis company competes with big corporations, how a cannabis company markets its products in such a highly regulated category, and what the term dignified consumption actually means. I think you'll find the answers interesting and surprising. Hear it now on Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly. This bonus episode is brought to you by the Ontario Cannabis Store and ACAS Creative.

It's a night for the whole family. Be a part of Kids Night when the Toronto Rock take on the Colorado Mammoth at a special 5 p.m. start time on Saturday, March 9th at First Ontario Centre in Hamilton. The first 5,000 fans in attendance will get a Dan Dawson bobblehead courtesy of Backley Construction. Punch your ticket to Kids Night on Saturday, March 9th at 5 p.m. in Rock City at torontorock.com. Reminder, folks,

it's your last chance to watch Paul T. Goldman on Peacock before my conversation with the director, Jason Wolliner, on Thursday. It's a show that's hard to talk about without really talking about it, so watch it before Thursday's show

if you're interested. And if you don't want to listen to something with spoilers, don't worry. We have two guests on Thursday's show. The other is comedian Ashley Barnhill. She actually used to work on WTF as a production assistant, and then she was building her comedy career when her life was almost cut short in a terrifying accident. So both Ashley and Jason are on Thursday's show.

And tomorrow, for full Marin subscribers, we talk about one of Jason's inspirations for Paul T. Goldman, the documentary American Movie. And Brendan and I go almost scene for scene, people. To subscribe to The Full Marin for bonus content and all WTF episodes ad-free, go to the link in the episode description or go to WTFpod.com and click on WTF Plus. Here's some Swide guitar. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. ¶¶ Boomer lives. Monkey and Lafonda, cat angels everywhere.

There's something to live for. Jesus told me so.