WTF with Marc Maron Podcast - Episode 1427 - Ray Romano

Episode Date: April 17, 2023

The last time Ray Romano was on the podcast, he was making the show Men of a Certain Age. Now Ray and Marc are both men of a certain age with a lot of the same concerns about their health and well-being at this point in their lives. They also followed a similar trajectory from standup comedy to dramatic acting and they’re now competing with each other for the same type of roles. They talk about taking risks, Robert DeNiro, and Somewhere in Queens, the new movie Ray co-wrote, directed and stars in. 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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When I die here, you'll never leave Japan alive. FX's Shogun, a new original series streaming February 27th, exclusively on Disney Plus. 18 plus subscription required. T's and C's apply. 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.

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. Lock the gates! and ACAS Creative. What the fuck, buddies? What the fuck, Knicks? What's happening? I'm Marc Maron. How's it going? How are you? This is WTF, my podcast. If you don't know what you're doing here, it's WTF, my podcast. Going strong since 2009. It's a long time. A long time. time today on the show i talked to ray romano all right so ray and i go way back really you

like i knew him before he was a huge sitcom star you know i've talked to him over the years at different times different places uh i had him on my tv show uh marin he did an episode where he played himself and, and amplified version of himself. I had him on this show back in the day, years ago when he was doing the show men of a certain age, but he wasn't alone. He's with Mike Royce. And this was before, um,

you know, the, the podcast, it was before anyone knew anything. It was, it didn't matter necessarily. It was two guys at the. It didn't matter necessarily. It was two guys at the offices of men of a certain age,

which was a show that I liked, that I thought was good, and I thought was honest. But it's not like Ray and I are best pals or anything, but I knew him back at the Comedy Cellar. Anyway, he wrote and directed his first movie, which he's also in, called Somewhere in Queens. It's got Laurie Metcalf in it. It plays his wife. And Sebastian Maniscalco plays his brother. Touching movie that played close to Ray's heart.

A lot of Ray in there. A lot of real ray in there a lot of queens in there which is where ray comes from and it was good to talk to him i mean this was like you know we'd seen each other here and there and we were able to talk about our particular paths um and he's one of the most humble, nice guys. Especially when you think about just how big of a star he really is.

Just a very humble guy. Same Ray in most respects. Like, way back, you know, he was a guy that was driving in from Queens every night. He's married. I don't think he had kids yet brother's a cop you know the show but in real life him and i were you know very different it was before i got sober like years before and i was this angry sweaty guy

and ray was always a very sweet guy pretty clean always very deliberate great jokes but just a great comic and a nice guy and i i remember we're leaving the cellar at the same time and and i'm like i guess i'll go get the train he's like where do you live you know and uh i say i'm in his story he's like yeah i'll take you i'll take you and there this moment where, like, I could see in his face that he was going to offer to give me a ride, but he didn't know if that was great for him. Not to take this sweaty, aggravated guy. But I've always been a pretty nice guy. A little reactive, but sensitive. But we were just of diff cut from totally

different cloths, but that's not unusual. And, you know, and I was probably high and, you know, he drove me home and, you know, it was just one of those things where I remember we talked a little bit, but, you know, not much. And, you know, I, I felt like I was, you know, being driven home by an adult. I was like, you know, Hey, thanks. was you know being driven home by an adult i was like you know hey thanks you know thanks for taking care of me thanks for giving me a ride i appreciate it uh okay uh i'm gonna go to whatever life i'm living here you go you go to grown-up land but uh always a great guy always a funny. And it was great to talk to him. Also, I brought up my pal, Danny LaBelle, the last show. He's got this one-day, one-show screening of his movie Reconquistador.

It's a documentary about his search for Sephardic roots in Spain and then doing a show in Spain. And it's in Encino at the town center in Lamley in Encino.

That's on Ventura Boulevard in Encino on April 26th if you're interested in that. But I neglected to say, this is why I'm doing this again. It's a very specific plug. But he's a mensch, and he told me he's going to be there. He's going to be doing a live Q&A. Danny is.

And also, he brought me a bag of vegan deli. Like, he was about to bring me a bag of meat. It looked like. He said, I got a present for you. I said, I ain't eating that. He took a picture of something. He was slicing up an entire side of a cow, it looked like. I'm like, I can't do it, man.

I'm vegan right now. I'm doing a vegan thing. And then he readjusted somehow. I went out. I was at, I was over at Gimme Gimme looking for stuff. I can't, I got to get off this record thing. But anyways, Danny brought over, he left me a bag of vegan corned beef. And, you know, there's vegan corned beef, rye bread, pickles, Russian dressing, you know, Dr. Brown. So very thoughtful. So it worked.

So I'm going to tell you right now that you can see that screening of Reconquistador April 26th. One night only. Danny will be there at the Town Center 5 in Encino. All right? and Encino. All right? You can go to lamley, L-A-E-M-M-L-E

dot com slash film slash reconquistador, one word. For those of you who are in the Encino area, I don't know if I've even been to Encino.

I think I might have brought my vacuum cleaner to be fixed. This is the life. This is the life. All right. I went to two supermarkets today and a record store before I recorded this. What do you think we do? I, you know, I am busy. If I'm not doing this, I'm busy, but it's not just at standup. I have to manage my home. Yeah, I do. I'm totally hands-on with that. I don't know what your life is like.

What is your life like? So I put myself in the position to start fleshing out the new shit. I'm starting to do the scribbles on the pieces of paper all over the place, starting to kind of pull together some stuff that didn't make the cut for the HBO special as a kind of launching off point, integrating new stuff, some stuff I've talked to you about. But I went and did Largo the other night. I was headlining the show. I kind of got a few support acts involved to buffer me because I never think I got the time. But ultimately, in between and between and upfront between three comics I had on there, I probably did over an hour. Was it all good? No. Was some of it embarrassing? I believe so. Not embarrassing. Like this isn't funny. Like embarrassing. Like what do i need to tell you people this for you know seriously i'm trying

to find a way through and i gotta start with me you know it's the only way i can do it it's talking about the cats a little bit then talking about my relationships and my fucking mental and emotional problems but i did did kind of, I'm trying to process where I'm at in my life on stage. And it was funny. It's just, this is always the way it goes. I don't know if I got another one in me. I don't know why I need to do it anymore. But it's what I do.

And like I should just accept. You know, I should just accept, you know, I should just accept like anybody else that, you know, you go through a process, whatever it is, whether it's traumatic or if it's a great success, whatever the life altering thing is, you got to come down from it. You got to move through it. It takes time.

You know, like, so I spent all this time on this special. Now I'm like, I'm not in a slump. I'm having some postpartum depression. And everything requires a seemingly forced effort. Not everything, but some things. And I don't know what's going to come or if it's going to come. And that's just normal. You do a big thing.

Afterwards, you're like, fuck, am I done? You know, why don't I have, why am I depressed? You know, I can't seem to think of, you know, of any new stuff. Like, give it some time, man. I mean, I assume this happens with everybody who does a thing. I'm not comparing myself. But I imagine Einstein, after relativity, was kind of like probably feeling a little low. People were like, hey, Albert, you all right?

He's like, yeah, I'm all right. You just got, you know. I don't feel depressed, you know. I got nothing going on. People are like, well, you just did a thing. It's a big thing. I know, but I just don't. I don't know. I'm just trying to get back on the horse.

You know what I mean? Yeah, I'm all right. I'm kicking around some numbers and some letters, squaring them, but nothing's really sticking. I just don't know if I got another one in me. I just don't know. But you know what? I think that one was enough and I'm not even familiar with the rest of that guy's work. I keep going back to this thing. Look, again, I'm no genius and I'm not comparing myself, but like, if you can do one great thing, look, if it has universal, literally universal resonance, because it

explained the universe to a degree, right? Great. Then you really don't have to do anything else. You can kind of rest on your laurels, but nobody does. No compulsive creator or thinker, you know, just rests on their laurels. I'd like to break that trend what few laurels i have largo so i was at the largo i told you i walked away from that show because i put my push myself out onto the ice got up on the high wire overshared drove home feeling slightly embarrassed. And, uh, it's one thing to be seen, you know, people talk about that. Like, you know, you see me or, you know, I feel seen not great. It's not always great because it like, it's another thing to be seen. Like I'm seeing too much, you know, being seen as something that needs to be kind of,

seen like I'm seeing too much. You know, being seen as something that needs to be, can you got to self-regulate on that one? You know what I mean? You want to be seen, but, you know, keep a couple of things to yourself just so you don't have to feel too, too, uh, vulnerable. You know what I mean? You know what I mean? Come on. But I had Lara Bytes on the show and Zainab Johnson. And Zach Galifianakis came by. Destroyed, killed before me with his jarring one-liners. But he's back. He's back in form, old Zach Galifianakis.

Zach Galifianakis. It was good to see the man. Hadn't seen him in a while. And he's one of those guys that I have to, you know, make believe that, you know, I'm good. I'm okay. And I like you. I'm not going to say anything mean. Zach Galifianakis is one of the guys who's always kind of like sees me and he's like,

oh God. I'm like, no, no, it's different. No, it's nice to see you. Okay. I'm serious, man. I'm serious. But it was, it was good to see him. And the show was great. And I'm just going to work it out. I'm going to work it out, people. So Ray's new movie, Ray Romano, who I'm about to talk to, he directed and co-wrote. It's called Somewhere in Queens. It stars Ray, Laurie Metcalf, Sebastian Maniscalco, and the guy from the French Connection. And it opens in theaters this Friday, April 2nd. And it's a touching movie. And I talked to Ray about it right now. ice cream, or just plain old ice? Yes, we deliver those. Goal tenders, no. But chicken tenders, yes. Because those are groceries, and we deliver those too.

Along with your favorite restaurant food, alcohol, and other everyday essentials. Order Uber Eats now. For alcohol, you must be legal drinking age. Please enjoy responsibly. Product availability varies by region. See app for details. 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. Did you go to Silver's? No, I wasn't around, yeah. There were some old-timers there. You went to it? Yeah. But you were not an improv guy, right? I was. She worked me before the cellar.

Yeah? I mean, I was definitely a Silver improv guy. Oh, yeah? Yeah. That's where I started. That was my first time on stage was the improv with silver yes but you know like yeah she passed me right that was the thing like i couldn't get into the cellar or catch i wasn't gonna wait around but silver like she put

me on yeah with all those but did you have to do the whole audition yeah i think so yeah i think she liked me i don't remember being freaked out about it. Like, it doesn't stand out in my memory as a traumatic experience to audition for Silver. Yeah. I had to go three times. I gave it up twice, you know. So I auditioned for her three different times. You quit? Yeah.

I quit, yes. When was this? I mean, wait. Oh, man. This I quit, yes. When was this? I mean, wait, wait. Oh, man. This was 82, maybe, 83. I passed, and then I quit. Yeah. And then I passed the second time under a different name because I went with,

I don't know if you remember, but to get a spot, you had to go on a Sunday afternoon, pick a number out of a hat. Right. So I brought a girl that I worked with. She came with me. Yeah. And I said, if you get it and I don't,

and they take your name down. Right. I said, put Jackie Rob, you know, an androgynous name. I said, put Jackie Roberts down. That's what happened. She got it. Name, Jackie Roberts. So that night I went on as Jackie Roberts.

And that's when I passed. So I didn't want to tell Silver. So for like the first couple months, I was Jackie Roberts at the improv. Yeah. And then I told, you know, I'm going to, it's my stage name. I'm going to change it. Yeah. Change it back? To Ray Romano. Yeah Improv. Yeah. And then I told, you know, I'm going to, it's my stage name. I'm going to change it. Yeah. Change it back?

Ray Romano. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. But that was my first club, man. Yeah. And then I remember Manfro was the one who, you know, Manfro Lottie was the one who called me one night because I played on the Improv softball team. So I made friends with all those guys. Yeah.

Even though I was the late nighter, you know. Yeah. But I could play softball. So I kind of got in with them. Right. And then Manfro called me one night and said, because the cellar, someone fell out, and Manny said, can you get somebody? We got nobody to fill this spot.

It was like, I think it was a weekend. And Manfro knew that me, and he said, hey, you want to get down here? Don't fuck it up, you know. Yeah. Yeah, and that was my first, that's how I got into was a weekend. And Manfred knew that me. And he said, hey, you want to get down here? Don't fuck it up, you know? Yeah. Yeah. And that was my first, that's how I got into the cellar. And that was like, I don't think people realize that the cellar was not a big deal then.

Oh, my God. It was like this. I look at those, you know, I go every time I'm in New York, I go to the cellar. I have an apartment now in Manhattan. Yeah. 11 minute walk to the cellar. So that's the only place I do stand-up now, and that and Vegas. It doesn't feel the same to me anymore.

It's weird with the cellar. I don't really go in there much anymore because I always feel like tension would know them, and the place doesn't look the same, and it annoys me. Well, you know, there's three shows a night, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, four Friday, four Saturday. In the two rooms and then two and now in the Village Underground

around the corner they have a lounge up top they do they do three shows on Friday, Thursday and then a little semi-lounge right next to the lounge and

he Noam bought on that was it 4th Street? Yeah. Right before 6th Avenue. There was a McDonald's that went out of business. He bought the, he's opening another room there.

He bought the McDonald's that was there? Yes. He's opening a bigger, like with a stage and a balcony. He's going to build a room there. So they leveled the McDonald's. He's going to build a whole new structure. He just bought it. It's going to be a year or two before.

Oh my God, that's crazy. But anyway, what you were saying is right. Yeah. These guys, I remember when they would have the help sit in the audience to make it look like a crowd. Yeah. So people would come in. And you go on a Monday, too. There would be 11 people.

You're lucky. Yeah. And now it's just packed to the brim, waiting, you know, a waiting list to get in. For all the rooms. Yep. For every one, yes. It's a real empire down there. I can't, it's, it's.

I picked a good time not to go back. Right when everything's getting great. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, but it's fun when I'm in town just to pop in, you know. Do you run around and do all the rooms or you just go the original? I do the two. Oh, the underground. That's where I did my, you know, I did a Netflix special three years ago and I did half of it in the cellar. Yeah.

And then I walked around and did half of it in the village underground. Yeah. Well, I think that's why it's so huge now because everybody associates everybody with that place. Like you, Jerry, Louie, everybody. You know what I mean? Like it plays prominently in people's thoughts about New York comedy, and I think it's the only place that is historically that has been there that long. Right?

Well, I guess stand-up New York, but that even came later. It's the only real original place. Well, the strip is still there. Oh, yeah. Is it? Yeah, it's still there. I don't know who's running it now, but the comedy. I didn't even realize it. Of course. Yeah, yeah. The it's still there. I don't know who's running it now, but the company. I didn't even realize it.

Remember it was Lucian? Of course. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Mark. His trick is still there. With that voice of his. I guess Stand Up New Yorkers.

I haven't been there. I haven't been at any of those. I think that, yeah. No, I think it's there, too. But I feel like that came later. I mean, when I was down there, the original catch was still around. Yeah, catch. Like that place, yeah.

Well, you know what was crazy was. Danger Fields, which I never stepped foot in. Oh, I did Danger Fields. A lot. On Sunday, they would have open micers. And you know who put me on was Hiram Kasdan. Hiram Kasdan. Hiram Kasdan.

I think he's still alive that day. Oh, he's around. He's a great guy. Yeah. Yeah. So where did you live? You lived in Manhattan? No.

I mean, when I first- Well, I first- I mean, I gave you- I think you gave me a ride or I gave you, I used to live in Astoria. Oh yeah. I lived in Queens. Yeah. Right. So I remember one time I think you gave me a ride across the bridge.

Right. Right. Like once. And we didn't really know each other. Going home. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

From the cellar. Yeah. Yeah. But, um, so I used to come in from Queens. I was married with little kids and when I wouldn't go on the road, which was, I didn't go on the road a lot. Yeah. I would have to hustle in the city. And I would, you know, Friday night, you do a spot in the cellar.

Yeah. You drive uptown quick to stand up. You drive to the stand. Yeah. Now you can just stay on that corner. Those kids can stay on the corner and do six spots on Friday night, you know? At the cellar. The cellar.

The Village Underground. The one on top of the Village Underground. Come do the second show at the Cellar. But all Cellar stuff, basically. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But you don't got to go anywhere. The whole idea of getting up to stand up New York or the Strip and then getting back down. I would drive.

I always drove and I was, you know, I'd park where if I can't find a spot, I'd park and I'd get a ticket. I'd get towed or whatever. It was crazy. Yeah. I remember like CK and Geraldo had motorcycles and he started to envy that. Oh, really? Well, yeah, because they could just whiz up there. Yeah.

And come down. My record is seven in one night. I think that's about probably mine. And then remember the Village Gate for a while? Yeah. Was doing shows. And Boston Common. Boston is where I could.

I couldn't work at the cellar for a long time, so it was really Boston, the strip, the improv, Village Gate. Sometimes like Greer Barnes had a room up near Harlem, like up by Columbia. West End Gate, I think it was called. Do you remember Joy Behar did a room, I forget what it was, but it was this classier room. Was it downtown though? Like a spring street cafe or something? Something. And I remember doing that one too. So like how much standup you doing now? Well, like I said, I do Vegas.

I have two weeks. Me and, it used to be me and Brad would co-headline Vegas. Yeah. And do you know Brad? How well do you know Brad? I don't know him well. I've interviewed him. He's intense.

Oh, he's the funniest guy. Well, you know, there's no filter. He's Don. He's a seven-foot Don Rickles, you know? Is he all right? How's he doing? Oh, he's doing great. Good.

But after a while, he was a little bit too Don Rickles for the- For your crowd? Not for my crowd, no. I was fine with it. But I remember we so we co-headlined and he would go on and then I would go on. And after about two or three shows I said,

let's flip it. Let me go first. It's a better show. But then the Mirage you know, had thoughts about him being there you know, just because. being there you know just cause yeah got too

yeah yeah but it was hysterical yeah but anyway so he left so then me and Kevin James did it how's that guy doing

he's doing pretty good man yeah yeah he's just he's in Long Island he's got four kids now but he's got a new show on or no no not a new show

he's got a movie coming out though that he he he's a funny fucking guy yeah and now then it was me and spade doing mirage i just saw him the other night yeah and he was great he's funny we did it for a couple years and now he's he's moved on and now to what i don't know i think the show i think it was too late for him it was 10 o'clock show not kidding i think i didn't think he was into the 10 o'clock show.

And now this coming week, I'm in Vegas with Brian Regan for the first time. Oh, wow. Yeah, so we'll see how that goes. Co-headlining? That's the way they book it? Yeah, yeah. And Manfred Lottie's going to open up. Who's going to go first on that one?

You and Brian. It'll be Brian. Yeah. And Manfred. Manfred, Brian, and me. Yeah. It'll be Brian. Yeah. But, and Manfro. Manfro, Brian, and me. Yeah. And I do that, and then I do, like I said, it's funny because I lived in LA for now 25 years.

I never go on stage here. I don't know what it is. I just feel, I feel weird. You should come to the comedy store. I know. I've been there like- It's a great, great place. Great room.

I was there about maybe seven months ago. How was it? I popped in. It was good. Yeah. I did the little room. Yeah. The original room. I was there about maybe seven months ago. How was it? It was good. Yeah, I did the little room. The original room. I mean the original, yeah. Yeah. It's good, right?

It was a good room, yeah. But when I go to the city, New York, then I just pop on at the cellar. Every night. If I'm there and I'm not doing anything that night, I will go on at the cellar, yeah. So you got the place in New York. How much time you spend there? I'm asking curiously because I thought about getting a place in New York, but I don on at the cellar, yeah. So you got the place in New York. How much time you spend there? I'm asking curiously because I thought about getting a place in New York, but I don't know if I'd use it.

Well, you know, that's my hometown. It's not your hometown. No. Yeah. So I got family there. My wife has family there. So you go to the apartment in New York and then you go out to the island? Or Queens or whatever? Queens. Yeah, Queens. And we didn't get an apartment until about five years ago.

Right. We would just come in and stay in a hotel. But now we have an apartment down in the West Village, and it's good. And so your kids use it sometimes and that kind of thing? Yeah, my daughter lived there for a while. My daughter's living in New York. My other kids live here.

Yeah. Yeah. So it worked out. But it is, yeah, it is a good thing. I'm glad we got it. And sometimes do you just go to hang out? I mean, I've gone there, you know, sometimes I feel like let's just go spend some time in New York, you know, if I'm bumming out over here. Yeah, yeah.

What gets you bummed out about this place in general? It's not the place. It's just, you know, yeah. What gets you bummed out about this place in general? It's not the place. It's just, you know, me. Yeah. And if there's a lull and I'm not doing nothing and if the weather's okay in New York. Yeah, why not? And I want to do stand-up. Yeah.

I'll go there. And my wife's into it because then she'll get to see her family. Yeah. And they got little babies now. She's got to go see the little grandnephews. Oh, wow. Yeah. Yeah.

How old are your kids? No, I don't have. We're waiting, man. We're waiting for grandkids. Yeah. I'm pressuring my kids. Oh, yeah. Are they all married?

No, nobody's married. One's engaged. Yeah. And the other one's about to be engaged. Yeah. My twins turned 30. Yeah. That's freaking nuts, man.

My twins turned 30. My daughter's 32. But one of the twins turned 30. Yeah. That's freaking nuts, man. My twins turned 30. My daughter's 32. But, like, one of the twins is engaged. Yeah. And they're looking for places now where the marriage is going to be. But I'm telling them, like, they want to get married in 24. Yeah. I'm like, what?

I'm pushing them to. To do it now? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Because I'm, you know, I'm up there, man. I played golf the other day with a guy my age, and he has nine grandkids. What are you, like 65? Yes. What are you? 59. I got no kids, so I don't have that pressure or the expectation. Let me ask you, how was 50? When you hit 50, how was that, turning 50?

I don't know. Like, I'm not really, I think this is the one that I'm paying attention to. This is the one. Yeah. This is the one. 60 is weird, man. I can feel it. Like, I can feel, like, you know, like, the age difference.

Both my parents are still alive, right? Because they had me when they were young. The age difference between me and my parents seems much closer. Yeah. Well, I mean, in math, it is close. But it was always that. But when you're younger, they're just your parents and they're old. Now they're like, they're not that, you know.

Yes, but when you were younger, they were maybe two times or two and a half times your age. That's true. That's right. Now the percentage is less. Yeah, that's right. That's also why time feels like it's going so fast as opposed to when we were younger. Because when you were younger, didn't it feel like the summer lasted so longer? Yeah. Because if you were 12, it was one twelfth of your, you know, you only had 12.

Yeah, you haven't been alive that long. That's good. That's a good point. But man, 60, saying 50 was weird, but saying 60, it sounds foreign. It sounds fake. Yeah. In my head, I don't feel that old. Well, you look good. My body, I'm getting a couple of notices that I am that old.

I'm feeling that too because I beat the shit out of myself. I exercise constantly, and it's getting more difficult. What's your – how's your – My health? Yeah, how's your blood? How's your cholesterol? My cholesterol is borderline, and I'm vegan right now for two and a half months. I want to see how much of it is genetic, how much of it is food. Yeah, be careful with that because, well, are you taking anything?

Are you on any meds? I was on the statins. I was on 10 milligrams. And my cholesterol was like 127. It's not terrible. Oh, it's good then. Yeah. Yeah.

Right? So, you know, but I wanted to, or maybe that's just the HDL. Oh, that's different. All right. So that's a little high. So that's not total cholesterol. No, the total was, I don't remember, 220. I don't know.

But it was all, so I just, you know, I got a colonoscopy, right? So I figured, like, I'm clean. Let's start clean. Yeah. So I go vegan, right, just to see what happens. And I'm on the statin a week, a vegan on the statin. My LDL, the bad, goes from like 125 to 80. And I'm like, holy fuck.

So I'm like, I'm going to get off the statins and stay vegan and go another week, get another blood test. And then it goes up to like 96. So there's definitely a component there. So I figure I'll go vegan three months, no statins, get a blood test just to see. Now I don't even know why. So that's what you're in the middle of right now.

I'm towards the end of it, two and a half months. But how do you, how do you like being vegan though? It's fine. I mean, I don't feel mentally better. I don't feel physically better. You've done it before.

Not really. Not like, not this committed. But I like cooking. I like to cook. So it's a challenging thing and it's kind of a fun thing to cook for.

I don't really miss meat that much. Yeah. You know, the only difference is you're not eating meat. You got to figure out what other protein you can eat and how that works. You end up eating a lot of beans and rice. How do you get your protein?

Well, you can get it through beans, rice, vegetables, tempeh, tofu, seitan, fake meats. It's okay. But here's the other kicker. Well, the only reason i said it was because i i had high cholesterol uh you know 20 years ago yeah and my guy always told me

why don't we start going on the statin yeah and i every time i said let me do it myself let me do it myself and i would go home and i would eat right, not vegan, but I would eat a little healthier. Yeah. And get it down a couple ticks. Yeah. I go back and now it was 280, now it's 220. Yeah. I go, ah, you know, and he'd go, okay, but now you got to get it down even more.

But then I'd go home and think I was, you know, hot shit. I got it down already and I would start cheating, cheating. And that was the cycle. That was the cycle. And still he would tell me, look, just because you're high cholesterol doesn't necessarily mean you're in danger. But it's not, you know, we'd like it lower. You know, everything else checks out. I did the stress test on the.

Yeah, me too. Right. Yeah. So that was for 15, 16 years. Yeah. I just had to have a stent put in. It's all clogged in there? It was clogged?

Yeah, I had 90% blockage. Holy fuck. Yeah, yeah. And then, so then I went on the, here, here, here, this will show you right now. That's my alarm to take my pills. See, that's where I'm at. I took my pills already. I got the calcium testing early on.

I did like eight years ago. And it wasn't great, but it wasn't horrible. Well, do you remember what it was? No. Because mine wasn't, it was the same thing. It wasn't great, but it wasn't horrible. Yeah. But, and so you had a stent, huh?

I had to have a stent. I got kind of lucky that we found it. As opposed to having a heart attack. I had 90% blockage. In that one thing or the whole heart? In the main artery. Okay. The widow, what they call the widow maker.

Yeah. I had a stent put in, yeah. And then I now, so of course then I'm on the meds, and my cholesterol dropped right away. It dropped, you know. So you're saying don't fuck around with trying to be disciplined. Well, if I could go back 20 years ago, I would have went on the meds, you know?

I don't mind taking them. It's hard. Well, it depends. Look, it's hard for me to sustain that diet stuff. It was hard. It was hard. I'm just curious. I don't really have a problem with the meds because I wasn't on that much.

The meds didn't do any. I mean, listen, some people have maybe joints and this. Yeah. I didn't have any of that. Me neither. No. So now you know. But they're good with the hearts now. I mean, you're going to be good this. Yeah. I didn't have any of that. Me neither. No. So now, look, now you know. But, like, they're good with the hearts now.

I mean, you're going to be good now. Yeah, I mean. But the other fucking thing is, like, I'm a little pre-diabetic. I was just going to tell you, here's the kicker. So I'm on the meds, and it's got me all down now. So I figure out now I can enjoy and eat some food. My sugar level's up now. Yeah, yeah.

I'm the same thing. I'm in the pre-diabetic zone. 5.8 or something. Yeah, I was. Whatever that means.'s up now. Yeah, yeah. I'm the same thing. I'm in the pre-diabetic zone. 5.8 or something. Yeah, I was- Whatever that means. I was 6.0, 5.9, yeah. It's a fucking nightmare. I exercise constantly.

I didn't think I was eating that much sugar. It's genetic, right? I mean, it can be, but yes, yes. Well, cholesterol can be genetic, yeah. And the sugar, I guess so, yeah. Are your parents around still? No. But my mom was 92, and she passed away a year and a half ago, and my dad was 84.

Those are good numbers. How old are your parents? My mom's going to be 80. My dad's 84. Yeah, and they're in good shape and all? No, my dad's always in his mind. Is he? Yeah.

It's kind of interesting. They get very vulnerable and weird. Yeah. And there's no filter anymore. And you're sort of like, oh, you were kind of a. Is he losing it like dementia and stuff? Well, yeah, it is dementia, but it's not ravaging him yet. Like it's more short term now.

Yeah. Yeah. That was my mom too. Oh, yeah. But long term is still in place. Yeah. Like he knows who I am. Right. He's a little confused about what he did yesterday. Yeah, that was my mom too. Oh yeah, but long term is still in place. Like he knows who I am. He's a little confused about what he did yesterday.

Yeah. But he can remember the old days. Is he still driving and stuff? No. No, he's got his wife still taking care of him. It's a very good source of humor. And she's good? She's all right, yeah.

But so I was just looking at the resume. It's so funny that on the resume that the first film you did was Caesar Salad, the Louis movie. Oh, yeah. Because I remember when he made that movie and everybody in New York. That's on my resume? Well, it's on Wikipedia, Caesar Salad, policeman. Yeah, me and Dave Attell. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Were you in that one? No, I missed that one. He cut me out of the other one. I think I was, yeah, I was cut out of Caesar Salad. That's funny. That's the one with the nightclub in it. And, right. And Epilito, you know, Don Epilito.

Yeah, yeah. He was like a. I did the music for Caesar Salad, I think. Really? Yes, I did that last, because I'm trying to remember the name of the other film he made. Oh, the other one, the one with Chuck Scar, the black and white one, that was a feature. Caesar's, yeah, I did the music. He cut me out of it.

He made me do something ridiculous, too. He made me get in the fucking water in, like, Long Beach. You know, it was just this crazy thing where he's got me with a megaphone shouting at the waves, directing, like, come on in. He's got me wearing a necklace of Tide boxes boxes and I'm supposed to go in the fucking water. It's freezing out. I ruined my shirt. I almost get pneumonia. He cuts it.

But then I played the final song. I did the music on it. Did he send you the scene? No, I don't think I ever saw. Oh, yeah, I did. I did see the scene. I did see it. I don't know if I have it.

But then it's like another, you know, it's another five. Well, I guess we both did Dr. Katz. Yes. I did two of those. I think we might have been on one together. Is that possible? Maybe, yeah. I did a bunch of those.

Yeah. But it's funny how much people know about those. They made an impact. It's a memorable thing. They made an impact. It's a memorable thing. It's funny because I guess not everybody stand-up adapted to it, you know? Yeah, right. But I think ours did, yours and mine.

If you have personal, first-person point of view stuff. Right. Like, you know, I did this, I did this, this is me. And it's conversational. Right, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, but I got a lot of people knew me just from Dr. Katz. Oh, yeah? Yeah, it was wild, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, but I got a lot of people knew me just from Dr. Katz. Oh, yeah? Yeah, it was wild, yeah.

I was thinking about a joke you did about that. I'm speaking about health. You remember the joke like, oh, is that a lump? Oh, there's one on the other side. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You check to see if there's one on the other side, yeah. Okay, there's another one. Just to see if there's one on the other side.

Yeah. Yeah. That goes, that's funny that I did health jokes back when I wish I was, I wish I was that healthy back as I am now, you know? Yeah. Yeah. I did that when I was 30. Yeah. That joke?

That's how neurotic I was. I didn't realize, because I think you and I have been really doing comedy around the same amount of time. I guess I started working as a comic in 88, and I think the first time I really started doing it was like 86. Like when did you really start? I mean, I'd say the start was 83-ish, 84, and making a living from it was, I got married in 87, and I think that was just around the time where I quit the day job and was full-time Canadian.

86, 87. Wild, right? Yeah. That's crazy that it's almost 40 years. I know. Oh, man. But what's interesting about what you've been doing lately, like, you know, after Ray, I mean, you know, the show, like, I mean, there's some part of me, like, you know, when I see other guys that had that experience, you know, they had the big sitcom or whatever. You know, like Jerry and, you know, a few other people.

It doesn't seem like they necessarily challenge themselves other than to keep doing stand-up or, you know, whatever. You know, Jerry's driving doing stand-up or whatever. Jerry's driving around in the car or whatever. Right, right, right. But it's not taking any big risk. But you, at some point, decided you're going to really be an actor. Was that always something you were planning on doing? That's what I, you know, before I entertained the thought of doing stand-up, know, before I entertained the thought of doing standup, I studied, not studied, but I took drama in college, you know?

But you did plays? Yeah, you did Neil Simon stuff. We didn't do plays. We did scenes, you know? Neil Simon's probably good for you. Yeah. I never did a play, really. Yeah.

And I was a fan of standup, but it wasn't until I got on the stage doing stand-up that it became all stand-up then. Yeah. That was my passion then was stand-up. Yeah. But I always had that kind of bug of, you know, of being an actor, I guess. And then, you know, could I do drama? I don't know. But, you know, after the sitcom, it was hard for people to see me in that.

Yeah. But now, you know who my competition is now? Who? You. You're the comedian slash dramatic actor. It's the shit you're doing, too, man. I mean, you're popping along, man. Well, it's interesting, right?

Yeah. To do it. Yeah. But, I mean, I think you're still a little higher profile than me. Yeah, but you're getting some shit out there that's really good, man. Well, thanks, man. I mean, I saw the... The two

lessons? Yeah, yeah. My agent told me about it. Oh, really? He says, you gotta watch that. He goes, that's the movies I want to get you in. You know, Marin got in it. Yeah, yeah. Well, that was scary for me because yeah well i don't i guess you probably had this moment you know but you know i had done the my series glow there and i did glow and i did marin which you know but you know it was still lower profile but glow was a real guy real acting part right and i've done things here and there i I played Jerry Wexler in the movie. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

But with, like, I don't love waiting around. You mean the movie, the process, the movie process. Yeah, yeah. It's, like, because I'm hyper and I'm anxious. Right. And, you know, no matter what, when you're on set and you're in the trailer and they're like, all right, we're going to light and then we'll come get you. It'll be like 10 minutes. And three hours later, it doesn't matter how many times you've done it, you're eventually going to go, what the fuck are they doing?

Yeah. It's tedious, man. It is. I mean, some of them are better than others. Right. But it can be, yeah, it is, it's weird because it's great. Yeah. But creatively, it's that way it's it's it's great yeah but creatively it's it's that way you know

it's a lot of funky nothing and then you get a little thing a little you know a little juice of creativity yeah you get on set for a minute and then then someone puts it together there's no lately i've been thinking like i want to kind of do a stage play because that would be like to be in it but but the point i was trying to make was that there's part of me that's sort of like all right well if i'm gonna do an acting role you know where is it how long is it gonna take right and that kind of stuff but also like you know what makes it worth it right because what you're saying is like there's a little juice and then you go back to the trail and then a little like that's okay and you hope it comes together

well but what makes it like a thing that's really amazing? How do I challenge myself and get. And I imagine you deal with this, too. It's like you have to look at it a certain way. You know, you have to put whatever you're doing together and then show up for it in those little bursts. Right. Right. But, like, when 2 Leslie came along, I couldn't understand why that guy wanted me.

You know, I was like, there's 20 character actors out there that I can name. Did he have you read for it or go on tape? No, he wanted me. Yeah. You know, and I'm like, but there's guys from Texas you can use. You know, how many people turn this down? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And what did he?

Well, he convinced me that he wanted me. And did he quote stuff, your stuff? Yes. He saw you. Yes, he liked it. You know, he liked the movie I did with Lynn Shelton, The Sword of Trust. And he liked the last season of my show. And I'm like, well, no one fucking watched that.

You must mean business. And I told him, but I said to him, I said, like, I don't know about the accent. You know, I just, I'm not comfortable. I don't know about it. He's like, don't worry about it. And I know what that meant. He's like, you're going to do it, but we don't have to talk about that. But, but no, but you know, I thought to myself like, well, if I'm going to do this, I got

to try it. Right. I got to try. Well, you got to trust the director. If the director thinks you're, you're, it's pulling it off. That's right. Yeah. Yeah.

And, but, you know, I met with the dialect coach and I did the whole thing, but, you know, but I thought to myself, the point is, is like, well, if I'm going to do this, let's fucking do it. Let's take some risks. Right. Have you felt, you must have felt that a few times for you. I mean, yeah. I mean, some of the shit I've had to do, you know, like I remember with vinyl. So I was on this show.

I remember. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. So we did the first one and that was Scorsese. You know, Scorsese did the pilot and I had to go on tape for him. Yeah. And the cool thing was I went on tape and the response we got back was, yeah, Marty likes it. He's in the running. And Marty wants to know who he is.

He's never seen him. And my agent was like, so he's never seen the show? He goes, no, no, no. He's never seen the, he doesn't know who the guy is. Which was a blessing because he didn't, he didn't have to erase the sitcom character from his mind. Right, right, right. He'd never seen one of two, 300 episodes.

No, no. Which, whatever. I can buy that. Martin Scorsese. Doesn't watch mind. Right, right, right. He'd never seen one of two, 300 episodes. No, no. Which, whatever. I can buy that. Martin Scorsese. Doesn't watch television. Yeah, yeah. But, and that was great because I went on tape. So when he hired me, he liked what he saw.

So that was great. Anyway, we do the pilot. Right. And I'm playing this guy from the 70s, a music guy. And, you know, I'm snorting coke and this and that and whatever. And that's a stretch for me. It's fun. It's fun as hell.

Yeah. And then a year goes by, almost a year, until they do the second episode. And we get the second episode. And I'm reading it. And my character has to contemplate killing himself in his garage. Yeah. And break down crying. Yeah.

And I go to my agent, well, I don't know if I can do this. And this is how compassionate he was. He goes, you better do it. That's the response he gives. And that was the first time where I had something that heavy, you know? And I'm like, holy shit. How, oh, oh God. You're not that guy.

Yeah. Yeah. And it was funny because about two days before I was, you know, angsting over it. Yeah. And I told my daughter, I go, make me a playlist of sad songs, you know? Yeah. And she goes, all right. So she did. And, and before the scene, I said, ah, what the hell?

I'll try this. I put the music on. Like I was waiting. You know how, like you say, you stand around waiting forever. So I'm waiting forever and I put on this music. Yeah. And, you know, I don't know if it's, I feel like an older actor has an advantage because you have so much to draw on, so much life to tap into, so many things and memories and whatever. And that's what I did.

I put those freaking headphones on and I put on Fix You by Coldplay. Yeah. And I'm listening and I'm thinking of, you know, you got to think of the most horrible, saddest things. And I just kept, it kept affecting me, infecting me. And, you know, they were still- Lighting? Yeah, still not ready. And I'm like, shit, I'm going to run out of shit here.

Yeah, yeah. But then I threw the headphones down when I called it and I just fucking kept that bubble of feeling in my body. And I went in the car and I surprised myself actually that I, that I tapped into it and I pulled it off. Yeah. Yeah. Um,

and it was weird because it like turned a corner for me in, in, in that kind of, uh, to, to attack that kind of scene. Yeah. Um,

and then I also, uh, this is going to sound actory and listen, I don't, I don't even know if I'm, if I'm good or not. Yeah, you're great. You're doing good. But, but I write, I heard Denzel Washington in an interview say he always writes a backstory, always writes a backstory, even if it's a small role, you know?

Yeah. And I started doing that and, and I, i gotta say it works you know it's a pain in the ass i swear to god the i mean you've written you wrote your show like you know how torturous yes yeah and when i get a role that's exciting i'm excited and then i'm deflated because i gotta fucking write a backstory now how thorough do you do it i just it's three or four page two three pages. Yeah. And I,

and I just, I just write that what the guy's life, how he got to this moment, how he got to this moment. But it's, yeah. That's only because you heard Denzel say it. Right.

But then I, it worked for me, you know, it worked and, and I see how it works because you read it, you, you, you,

you, you, you make a character, you make this guy. Sure. You invent this guy. Sure. You invent this guy. Yeah. And then you forget about it.

Right, right. You get it. You suck it in. You absorb it. Yeah. And then you just, it's there. Right, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

But it's a pain in the ass to write it, you know? Yeah. Anytime I get a role now, I'm like, now I got to write a backstory. It's weird about writing. You're the same way, huh? When I wrote episodes of my show, I couldn't stand it. It was just like, now I got to write a backstory. It's weird about writing. You're the same way, huh? I couldn't, like, when I wrote episodes of my show, I couldn't stand it. It was just like, oh, my God.

It's torture. I'm not a fast writer. Yeah. I write with somebody. I collaborate with somebody, you know? Yeah. And we're both the same. We're like, we-

Who's that? His name is Mark Stegman. Yeah. Oh, for the movie? He wrote the movie with me, and now we're trying another one. And he was a writer on men of, but also Mike Royce, Royce. Yeah, sure. Royce is, is, is better.

There's a discipline to it. And like, like when you're a comic and even acting to a certain degree, you know, you just, it comes up, you're like, oh, and you got your bit. Right. And it's, it's immediate sort of satisfaction. Yes. The idea of like getting from page one to page 120, it's like, oh my God. But even to be like, all right, we need, he's in the kitchen.

He's got to somehow bring this up and get out of the kitchen. How do we get him out of the kitchen? Yeah. But I will say this, it's a good feeling when it's there and done. Yeah. And there are times where like you know we toil over shit for a long time and we come up with something and that kind of gives you a little bit of a high oh oh today we wrote this cool one page you know it's good but like even in a writer's

room it's a fucking nightmare yeah a nightmare yeah sometimes you hours just with 12 other people, nothing. By the way, I was going to tell you, because you have that feeling about how movies are so tedious and laborious. The most fun I ever had on a set was with this movie I did called Paddleton with Mark Duplass. Duplass, yeah. And it was an outline movie. It was just outline. Oh, you riffed it. I mean, it was a drama also. Sure, I get it. Yeah.ass, yeah. And it was an outline movie. It was just outline. Oh, you riffed it. I mean, it was a drama also.

Sure, I get it. Yeah. Yeah, and you're dying. He's dying. Oh, he's the one. He's dying. I'm helping him die. Yeah.

And he just outlined every scene. You know, pretty detailed. It was a 20-page. No, I've done that stuff. It's great. 20-page, yeah. Yeah, that's the way Lynn did Sort of Trust. I work with Joe Swanberg.

It could be a disaster also. Well, you've got to be working with a guy who knows how to do that, and he knows how to do that. Yes. You know, like they're editing as it goes on. You know, they know what they got. Right, right, right. That's cool. But that was fun.

That was, yeah, and that was, you know, and I'm saying it's fun now because it came out well. Yeah. I mean, I guess if it came out well. Yeah. I mean, I guess if it came out shitty. But the benefit of that is like, you know, once you, like if you're going to do another take and you try something, you know, you've created it organically. Yeah. So you can sort of build on it.

Yes, yes. Like it's all you. You're not just trying to honor someone else's stuff. Yes, yes. Yeah. And what was great was that was we, you know, you never do a movie chronologically. But this one was pretty close to it. And it's towards the end when he dies, you know, you never do a movie chronologically, but this one was pretty close to it.

And it's towards the end when he dies, you know, and I'm helping him, it's assisted suicide, you know, um, we had, it was like the second to last day. So we had lived in these characters, this friendship. So it was so, it was amazingly easy to tap into that emotion of seeing my friend die because we were these guys for 20 days. Yeah, yeah. Oh, you built up to it. It's great. Yeah, yeah.

That movie, Bad Education, it's so funny because I auditioned for that. Right? Oh, yeah. For what role? Well, the funny thing was I thought I was auditioning for the role you had because they said, well, Ray's auditioning for it too. But the role that I was auditioning for, and I didn't, I just didn't, I didn't even want to do it. I wrote the script. I'm not going to do it.

It was for Hugh Jackman's boyfriend. And he's got nothing in there. It's like, I said, look, if I'm going to be gay in a movie, that'd be a good guy to be gay with. Right. But it just didn't seem like there was much to the role other than that. He didn't have a lot of screen time. No. Not a lot of screen time. And I said, like, I'll wait to be gay when there's more gayness.

They went with a younger guy. I think so. I think it was a younger guy. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I liked that movie. It didn't seem to, like, I didn't hear much about it. Well, it went, I think originally it was supposed to be released in theaters, but then

they decided just to have it on HBO, just put it as a HBO movie. But it got well received, though. And he was really great in it, yeah. Yeah, everybody was good. And Allison Janney, Allison Janney. Oh, she's great. Yeah. She's, I just work with her.

She was in Two Leslie for a minute. Oh, that's right. That's right. Yeah. Yeah, she's amazing. Like, when you're around people like that, do you feel that feeling when you're, you must have felt it, like, in The Irishman. Oh, that's right. That's right. Yeah, she's amazing. Like, when you're around people like that, do you feel that feeling when you're, you must have felt it, like, in The Irishman. Oh, my God. Were you

just like, because there's part of you, if you're like me, because I did one scene with De Niro in The Joker. It was two minutes. But, you know, there's part of you that's watching them. Well, and also you're wondering, do they think I suck? Because, you know, De Niro, by by the way he's he's a

great great guy he's he doesn't he's not very demonstrative doesn't talk that's just his thing yeah and this is actually to this point that you're talking about so i had one pretty big scene with de niro in that and i'm sitting across him i'm the lawyer for the for the union and he's a young guy who has to appear so i'm asking him did you the lawyer for the for the union and he's a young guy who has to appear so I'm asking him did you do it did you punch the guy did you do it and went back and forth back and forth okay and it's a nice scene and it's like day two of filming and Scorsese's right there and and him yeah and it's you know you know what a movie so three hours we're doing this scene on him on me on him and we're ad-libbing a little bit also. Yeah.

Scene ends. The day's over. Yeah. And I don't need, you know, you don't have to pat me on the back. Yeah. But I felt like I needed something there, you know? And I got nothing from Scorsese. Yeah.

And nothing from De Niro. But, you know, the day was over. They're going home. Yeah. And I get in the car and I go, we're driving to the hotel. I'm driving to the hotel. Yeah. And I'm on the phone with my wife and I'm like,

I don't know, man. I swear to God. I don't know. I don't know if De Niro's telling Scorsese we got to get rid of this guy, whatever. And, you know, he didn't say nothing. And she's like trying to calm me down. I get to the hotel.

This is in Long Island. I'm checking in. Yeah. I hang up with my wife. I'm checking in. And then I hear Ray. And I look, and it's De Niro checking in also. He just walks over, takes my head, and kisses me on the cheek and walks away.

And I'm like, well, I mean, I think it's good. It's the mafia, so you never know. But I called my wife up. I go, I think I'm okay. It was great. It's wild, man. You know, because I had to wrestle with this. Well, that's the other thing.

You're doing big parts now with these guys. And I had to realize, it's a weird moment where you have to realize it's not about me. This is an ensemble. There's a bunch of people here. You know what I mean? I can't be too needy. Because I did that one scene. I spent like a half a day with him.

He's dealt with a million guys who had three lines. And he doesn't know who I am. And I'm just another one of those guys. So I can't worry about that. I know. Like, did De Niro like me? He's like, you're just online with, you know, a million bit parts. I know.

But you got the story. You know, I had the scene with De Niro. I know. You know. It just got to, because I am, you know, I am getting lucky and I'm having these scenes with people. Yeah. And like, I just did a movie with Scarlett Johansson and yeah, you,

you get intimidated, but I think I'm at the point where once they yell action. Yeah. Um, you're in. All that goes away. Yeah. Fuck it.

Let's just, let's just do it. And also you, you start to realize, well, I started to realize it a long time ago from doing this show is that they're just, they're just people. Yeah, I know. And you don't even understand how well, I started to realize it a long time ago from doing this show, is that they're just people. Yeah, I know.

And you don't even understand how they, you watch De Niro work and you're like, it doesn't seem like, you know, it's subtle. But you know what he does know? He knows how to be on camera. Yes. So like you're watching and it's like, he's barely doing anything. And then you watch the final product, you're like, holy fuck. Well, that's funny because, yes, that's what I noticed too. You're there, you're in the fuck well that's funny because yes that's what i noticed too you're there you're in the scene with them yeah and yes there's there's things where

the the gravitas of it it's not really hitting you but then when you see it on camera and they're on their eyes and all of a sudden that's when you you get it all, you know? Yeah. That's what I like, you know, going from the four-camera sitcom to now to a single camera. You know, the four-camera sitcom, you got to be big. You got to be, you know. Sure. You're doing a live stage show. Yeah. You got to be broad.

You got to whatever. Yeah. But now with this, just the twinkle of an eye reads, you know? I know. It's hard to make that adjustment because I'm always yelling. You know what I mean? Like, I always talk like this. What do I got to, you know?

Yeah. Well, it's funny because I always, they always had to tell me to go bigger on the sitcom. So it's nice to have to be able to dial it down now. Yeah. To use your regular frequency. Right. So I enjoyed the Somewhere in Queens movie.

Can I have this? Yeah, absolutely. This is water, right? Yeah, it's just water. It's such a marketing thing. I know. It's weird. Do you need a box?

They send me a bunch of boxes. I'll give you a box. Yeah, sure. Yeah. So I watched Somewhere in Queens. Oh, thank you. I cried, and it was nice. Did all the things it's supposed to.

What part? I'm a pretty easy crier. Me too. Me too. Me too. I love crying. The dad stuff, like, you know, that moment with your dad, he's lucky to have you. Can I tell you about that? Can I tell you something about that? I haven't seen that guy since the French Connection.

Tony LoBianco, yeah. Tony, we overwrote that scene. You're talking about a scene in the, in the, in the trailer, construction trailer. Yeah. Right.

And my father who I've never gotten validation from and whatever. And we wrote that scene where he gets up and says a big speech to me. He walks over to me in that trailer. Yeah. And he says, but, and what you're doing with that kid more important than any of this shit, you know,

and whatever. And, and, and we watched it and it was, he was great in it. Yeah. But it was too much. Yeah.

And we overrode it. And we manufactured that moment, that moment when he turns his back. Yeah. We, that line was not, we did that in ADR. No shit.

He's, he's ready to get up to come give me that speech. Oh. Yeah. And, and, and, and,

and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and,

and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and,

and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and,. And, you know, I had to tell the actor that, Tony, and, you know, God bless him. He was so good in that scene. Yeah. And, of course, he wanted that scene in.

Right. And I told him, Tony, I know you were great in that, but I got to be honest, it's so effective now, this one little line. It's more in character for you not to be able to even look at me, you know, and say it, you know? Right. And I'm so glad you said that, you know? Yeah, be able to even look at me, you know, and say it, you know? Right. And I'm so, I'm so glad you said that, you know?

Yeah. Yeah. Cause I have to, I keep telling them, you know, people are responding to that scene. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But it's all pretty heart heavy, you know, because of, you know, that how much you care about your son and his, you know, his, his problems.

Yeah. Because like in the turn where, where it's insinuated that, you know, you're doing it all for you, you know, like this is about your dream. Like I, you know, I understood that, but it's not 100% true. Yeah, well, it's a little bit for me. Yeah. There's a selfish reason. Sure.

And there's also. But you want the kid to be all right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. So what was the. That was inspired. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So what was the— That was inspired by my real life, actually. Yeah?

The story was, you know, my son is 6'5", my young son Joe, and he played high school basketball. I remember you did jokes about this. The last time I worked with you was that benefit that you did. What was the benefit for? You had me and Eliza on, Robert Klein. Oh, for Peter Boyle, for the myeloma? Yeah, yeah, yeah. But yeah, yeah, yeah. I remember that. Thanks. Yeah. He was graduating high school. He played here at Campbell Hall with the, I don't know if you don't

follow the NBA, but he played with two guys in the pros, the Holiday Brothers. Yeah. And it was so exciting for me to watch. And this is the pathetic part was I got attention, you know, too. And like I need more attention. I'm on TV. I'm on a movie. And I got to suck this attention up too. So when he was graduating, I knew he wasn't going to play in college.

He was 6'5", and they made him a center. And when you're in college, 6'5", is a guard. Yeah, so his playing days were over. Yeah, right. And so when he graduated, I just felt a sadness that this was going to go away, this thing I shared with him. And also living vicariously through him a little bit. Yeah.

And then I just thought, what if it was some poor schlub who had nothing else? Yeah. So that was the jumping off point of the story. That was the seed? Yes. And then seven years later, we had a script. I swear to God. We wrote, that's how long it took us.

But that's like going in and out. Yeah, off and on, off and on, yeah. But it was sort of a dream, right? But also during that time, you're building confidence. You're seeing how to direct a thing. You're getting better as an actor. Yeah, well, I never planned on directing it because I had never directed. After we wrote it and we started casting it, I still wasn't.

I said, we got to get a director now. And it was my agent who just convinced me. He said, you know, it's too personal. You got to do it. And I said, I don't know. Have you directed? Just a couple episodes of my show. But I was in every scene of it.

So I don't really consider it the real experience. But it was single camera. So, yeah. But I don't. You get a good DP. Yeah, that's what I mean. I didn't know a lens from a freaking. Yeah, yeah, sure.

And he said, surround yourself with good people. And you worry about the story and the acting. So in the writing of it. Yeah, sure. And he said, surround yourself with good people, and you worry about the story and the acting. So in the writing of it, how did it – because it's not like your life. I mean, I could see the dynamic between you and the kid. No. I took things from my life. My wife is a breast cancer survivor. My other kid –

How's she doing? Good? She's great. Ten years. Okay. Clean already. Good. you know my my other kid how's she doing good she's great 10 10 years okay clean already good um my son struggles with anxiety you know so yeah little snippets of that and and the world the italian world yes is of course i grew up italian in queens but i didn't grow uh i didn't

that wasn't the world i was writing about i was writing about the world i married into this was my wife's side of the family that, you know, her parents were right off the boat. Oh, really? Yes. And they didn't speak English. Yeah. And everything is a, you know, a confirmation becomes a wedding. Yeah.

A communion becomes a wedding. Right. You know. Oh, that's funny. And so I said, I want to, and you know, they're big and loud and food and love. Yeah. You didn't come from that? Not really, no.

My parents were born here. My mom spoke Italian. Her parents were from Italy. Yeah. But it wasn't really that traditional Italian household. But you knew the area. Where'd you shoot it? Queens, yeah.

We shot it in Queens, yeah. Yeah, yeah, that's my hometown. Yeah. Yeah. But I wanted it to be specific to that universe, you know. And, of course, you make it about something, but then it's universal anyway because it's about family. Right. And, you know, and I thought there was some – there was honesty to the thing.

There's honesty to the thing. Your vulnerability because of your own sort of, you know, place in the family. You know, the son that, you know, just can't keep it together really, you know. But, you know, for your family, you have a lot of emotions. You got Sebastian playing your brother. Yeah, Maniscalco plays my obnoxious younger brother. Who's running the company kind of. Right, and treating you like shit.

But you know who was great is his kids. Yeah, his kids. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They had more to do, too. It's funny what editing, once you get into editing, man. Editing is unbelievable. I like editing. I like it.

I mean, it's tedious and all, but it's where you can create. If you shoot enough, you got a lot of choices. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And things happen. Yeah. But you, what you can make and what you can twist around and it's wild, right? It is really, it is so important, man. I mean, that's obvious to say that, but God, it's amazing what you can do in an editing room.

Yeah. But I thought that like, you know, you made choices, you know, to, it's kind of interesting because, you know, he's got the girlfriend, he's your son, he's a virgin, and then, you know, that happens. But you don't show it. You just, you know, it happens. You know, it's not that you were going to show it. Sex, you mean. The sex in the car.

You can't show it, but it was kind of interesting. Like, you know, it's like, it starts, they kiss, and then it's like, you know, it's happened. He's better. Well, it was probably that quick anyway. Yeah, yeah, yeah. If he's a's like, you know, it's happened. He's better. It was probably that quick anyway. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's a virgin, right? Right, right, right. It's funny that that kid, you know, because that kid in real life, the kid who plays my son,

we gave him bangs, you know, to make him look a little bit like a naive, innocent kid. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Because in real life, he looks like he's a stud-looking kid. Yeah, really, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Because in real life, he looks like he's a stud-looking kid. Yeah, really, yeah. Yeah, yeah. And he's a great basketball player. But I was like, how do – but he was the best one to read when he read, you know, and I was like – and he could play basketball.

You know how hard it is to find a good actor who plays basketball? Really? You can't do it. You can't do it. No kidding. Yeah. Like, originally, we wrote him as a six foot five kid. Yeah.

And we started looking at guys and we like, we quickly said, okay, drop that idea. Yeah. We'll make him six feet. He's shorter than me, that kid. We put him in shoes, you know? Yeah. And we would narrow it down to like 10 guys and then we would say, can you go on camera playing basketball for five minutes?

Can you show us what you can do with a basketball? Because they all said they could play. Yeah. And they would send a tape. And within five seconds, we would see this kid's never played basketball in his life. Oh, really? Yeah. But they went ahead and made the tape.

Yes, yes. But this kid really could play. Yeah. And that was, we only had one really, one big scene. But it's got to be believable that he can get a scholarship of some kind, you know? Sure, of course. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, but yeah, he was, and he was driving for Postmates when we told him he got the role, that kid.

Oh, really? Jacob, yeah. He's out here? He is here, yeah. What's his name? Jacob Ward, yeah. He's a great kid. Yeah, I thought like it was kind of of there was a couple moments I thought like

were interesting and you know like I mean there's the main story points but even the scene with the widow whose house you're working on

you know when you're having a meltdown and you go over there and you almost you know she wants to sleep with you you get very close but I thought

the great beat was the next day where she's pissed off and you're like it's a person I don't beat was the next day where she's pissed off, and you're like, no, it's a person. I don't know. Yeah, she's just lonely. She's just lonely.

Jennifer Esposito, yeah, she was really good in that, yeah. And Manfred Lottie's in it. Manfred Lottie, yeah, yeah, yeah. And the sister, too, was really good. Oh, she's great. Yeah, and I saw Eric Griffin the other night. Oh, yeah, Eric Griffin. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I'm going to see him. We're having an L.A. screen. You know, it's premiering in New York on the 17th. Where, in Queens? No, it's in Manhattan. But we're having an L.A. showing this Monday night. Eric Griffin hasn't seen the movie yet. He hasn't?

I told him it was good. He's good. Oh, good, good. He's a good guy. Yeah, yeah, he's fun, yeah. We gave him the role. It's't? I told him he's good. He's good. He's a good guy. Yeah, he's fun. We gave him the role. It's funny because we gave him the role. I wanted him for the role and then they told me

they have to make it a New York hire because it'll cost too much because he's an LA hire. So we were going to cast this other actor, Mo Hammer. Mo, do you know this comic?

Mo Mandel? Mo Amir. Amir. I think it's something like that. Yeah, Mo Amir. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, he's a big act. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

But something happened where he couldn't do it. So we went back to Eric. And Eric, when he got there, his clothes said Mo on them. There was a tag that said Mo on it. So on his podcast, Eric told the story about, I meet Ray Romano and he says, you are our first choice. Then I get there and I see Mo, the name Mo, and I go, that's Hollywood, man. They tell you you're your first choice. And I had to call Eric. I go, no, no, no, no. You were our first choice, man. You got to believe me.

Yeah. Moe was the second choice, and then you had to come back. Then we had to go back to Eric. Oh, that's so funny. Yeah, but you thought I was showbizzing him. Oh, really? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I didn't realize that you were, like, you did a little television before Ray,

but I just read a thing that you were cast on news radio. Yeah. You didn't know that? I didn't know. That's an old story, huh? I was fired, yeah. Yeah. And Joe Rogan got the part.

Joe Rogan took my place, yeah. I was fired on day two of rehearsal. Huh. Yeah. I was a nothing actor, just, I mean, a comedian. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I was making, you know, I was 11 years in. Yeah.

And it was just like what you said, where the, a comedian. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I was making, you know, it was 11 years in. Yeah. And it was just like what you said, where the guy wanted you. Yeah. The, uh, Paul Sims was the showrunner. Yeah. And he wanted, he just wanted me. He saw my, maybe he saw my HBO special or something.

And I came in and read and he cracked up and then I left. He goes, you got the role. And, and, you know, I didn't really believe him. And then they flew me out to LA. we live in, I had three little kids. Yeah. And I read for the studio and blah, blah, blah.

And then we did a table read. But each time it, like the, the audition that I did for Paul Sims was so good. Yeah. And each time it went down a notch. Like at the, at the audition for the, uh, for the, um. Studio. Studio. Yeah. Wasn't as good. Yeah. And then the table, it wasn't as good. Yeah.

And then the tailoring, not quite as good. And then we started rehearsing. And you knew this show was going to go. It was Dave Foley. It was Phil Hartman. More Tyranny. And I was going to get paid. I remember they said, you're going to get $8,000 an episode.

And I called my wife and we were going crazy. Yeah. You know? And then we rehearsed the day, you know, and it's with the great director Burroughs, Jim Burroughs. Yeah. And Andy Dixon also. Yeah. And we're at living a little and I think it's going good.

But I'm telling you, I'm being totally truthful. I'm living a little and I think it's going good, but I'm telling you, I'm being totally truthful. In my gut, I felt like I'm just not missing, I'm fouling these off, you know? I'm not really, it doesn't feel right, you know? But whatever, everybody was laughing and this and that. And the next morning, the second day of rehearsal, at the hotel, my manager calls me at 6.30, you know. And, you know, the phone rings, and as soon as he says hello, I know. Yeah.

It's over. And it was the old line. He said, they're going in another direction. Yeah. Who's your manager? Rory Rosegarden. Still, right? Yeah.

How's that guy doing? He's good. Yeah. He's doing good. You know him? Yeah. Sure. I mean, I know him, like, you know like years ago. I've met him here and there.

He's got like you and three guys, right? Does he still have Klein? Yeah, he's got Brian Regan. I don't know if he has Klein anymore. Yeah. But he's Klein forever, right? He had Klein for a long time, yeah. And he had David Brenner once, yeah.

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's you and... But it's funny. So Rogan takes my place. Yeah. And now, you know now we all did okay. Yeah. Right?

Yeah. I would say everybody did all right. We all ended up okay. So what's the future of this movie? How's it going to go? Are you going to do a run in the theaters, and then where does it go? It goes in theaters on the 21st, and it's 700 theaters, and then if, you know, they might expand it the second week, the third week, and then it goes to Hulu after that. But who knows,

man? This is scary, Bill. Why is it scary? Because we're coming down to finding out, you know? If people like it. Yeah, I mean, we've been at festivals, and they've done great. Yeah. It was at Tribeca. It was this. But I always tell, you know, I tell Stegman, my writing partner, you know, the real test is people who go in and pay money to go see it. Yeah.

Let's see what happens. Well, I mean, so, but it opens, when is it? When? Next week. The 21st. So you haven't seen any reviews or anything yet? Yeah, we've got, at Tribeca, we got 10 reviews. They're all, you know, we're 100% so far on Rotten Tomatoes.

But, I mean, listen, I'm happy that it's being received well. But in this business, you know, you just got to wait and see. But, yeah, right, for the money, right. But, you know, sometimes being reviewed well means something, you know? Yeah. Yeah, but. No, it is reviewed well. I'm not selling my own movie.

Yeah. If the PR people were here now, they'd be. Ray doesn't know how he feels about it. Go see it. No, no, no. But did you get the directing bug? I mean, is it something you want to do again? Or no?

I would do it again if I wrote it, if I wrote something. Yeah. Because it was leading up to the day one was horrible. It was nine weeks of prep, and I had to go for a stress test. I was getting chest pains. Yeah. I was seeing. Oh, that's when you were having that?

No, no. This was, no, no, no. I got, I have had stress tests for a long time. You know, I've, I've been on that treadmill, but this was that particular, when we went to New York to start the prep. Yeah. I was so nervous about taking on this directing thing. Yeah.

On day two, I had to go to my cardiologist. But you already had the stent. I've had the stent already. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I've had the stent already. Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I've had the stent for two years now already. Yeah. And everything checked out. It was all in my head, you know.

But my agent on night one, I told him I can't do it. I can't do it, man. It's nine weeks of prep, and I fucking can't get through the first night. Oh, boy. And he said, just calm down. Yeah. night you know and he said just calm down yeah and uh and but what but but day one of directing yeah it's like acting man once i say action it all kind of goes away yeah and having said that now i i think i would do it again if i wrote if i wrote something yeah like weirdly i've been

getting offers just because they haven't even seen it, but they heard I directed something. Sure, sure, yeah. So I've been getting these odd little offers to direct these screens. And I, nothing against the scripts. The scripts are fine, but I have no desire. It's not my passion. I'm not, I'm not organically consumed by that story. Sure, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Like I was with this one. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like I was with this one. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's their vision and all. I mean, I guess you could make it. I guess if the right script came along where I just totally, every word spoke to me. Yeah. Maybe, but right now, you know,

we're starting to write script number two already. Is it another Queens-based thing? I don't know. No. It's a dude that's my age. Yeah. You're going to play the guy? That's the plan so far.

Different dude. You got to write your own roles. Sure. You get to a certain age. Different guy, different type of guy. I'm getting more roles now. I think I've aged into, like I'm at that age where now they can make me the father of the 25-year-old or the 30-year-old.

Right. Before I was kind of in between. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Now you're the real dad.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The older dad. Yeah. But we'll see. We'll see what happens. All right.

Well, great to talk to you. Good to see you. All right, man. Can you fix it? You called that talk? Yeah, the talk. We'll tighten it up. Yeah. How much time did we. All right, man. Can you fix it? You called that talk? Yeah, the talk. We'll tighten it up. Yeah.

How much time did we do? How much can you cut out of it? We did 1-8, 1-0-8, hour 8. So you cut eight minutes? Yeah, true. Does it have to be an hour? No. It can be whatever we want.

It was great, man. It's good to talk to you again. All right, man. There you go. Me and Ray talking about the acting and stuff. Somewhere in Queens opens this Friday, April 21st, and it's worth a watch. Hang out for a minute, people.

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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. 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. If you want to hear the last time Ray was on, you've got to go all the way back to episode 113 from 2010. That's when I talked to Ray and the co-creator of Men of a Certain Age, and also a writer on Everybody Loves Ray, Mike Royce.

What I did once, I told you this story. I remember in New York when I was living in New York and it was like 10 degrees out and I drove past an old woman at a bus stop. And this was like about 10 o'clock at night. So the buses aren't coming frequently. It was in Queens. And she was an old woman, 10 degrees, maybe 15 degrees.

And I'm driving somewhere and I see her, you know, and I think to myself, that woman could die tonight. It's 15 degrees, she's 87 years old. I go, on my conscience, I go, I got to go back and make sure because whatever. So I go around the block and I open my window as I drive by and I just go, are you okay? And she's a little startled, you know, like, well, who's this guy talking to? And she goes, what? What? And I go, are you okay? And she's a little startled, you know, like, well, who's this guy talking to? And she goes, what? What?

And I go, are you okay? It's very cold out. You okay? And she goes, yeah. And she's, you know, she doesn't know, creepy guy talking to her. Yeah. And I saw that I startled her. So I drove, I drove away.

I go, all right. She said she's okay. And then I started thinking, I just startled her in 15 degree weather. Yeah. What if she's having a if her heart's skipping beats? So I had to go around again and just make sure she calmed down. And I went around again

and she saw me go around again. So now I'm fucking stuck going around the block for all night. And now you're frightening her. Until the bus comes. Yeah, and for the rest of that for the rest of that week, she's hoping that you don't show up in front of her house. If you want that episode and every other episode of WTF ad-free, sign up for WTF+. Just go to the link in the episode description or go to WTFpod.com and click on WTF+.

Les Paul Custom. No effects. Tubes. guitar solo guitar solo guitar solo Thank you. Thank you. guitar solo boomer lives monkey and lafonda and the cat angels everywhere