WTF with Marc Maron Podcast - Episode 599 - Parker Posey

Episode Date: May 3, 2015

Indie film superstar Parker Posey talks with Marc about her life so far, from being born "the size of a beer can" to recently contemplating whether she should leave the movie business. Plus, Parker offers her take on working with directors like Woody Allen, Richard Linklater and Christopher Guest. And also her dog pees on Marc's floor. 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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Lock the gates! All right, let's do this. How are you, what the fuckers? What the fuck buddies? What the fuckineers? What the fucksters? What the fuckaholics? What the fuckadelics?

What the fuckleberryfins? What's happening? It's me, Mark Maron. I am in New York City as I record this in my hotel room. What am I doing in New York, you'll ask? Why didn't we know this before? Why don't we know things about you, Mark? You tell us everything. I don't understand why we don't know exactly what you're doing and when you're doing it and where you're doing it and why. I am in New York. I came out here. I'm in between tour dates. I will be in Seattle at the Neptune Theater this Friday for two shows. I'll be in Vancouver at the Vogue for one show on Saturday.

Saturday the 10th in San Francisco at Davies Symphony Hall on the 11th on Mother's Day. Bring your moms. It's a mom-friendly show, that show. That's my next comedy special, mom-friendly. So that's happening. So I came to New York primarily for the upfronts for Vice. Vice,

the magazine and online content provider of Mayhem, and also they have a new show on HBO, are going to have a channel. And I am doing a show on that channel, on the Vice channel. I I am doing a show on that channel, on the Vice channel.

I will be doing a thing called Vice Portraits with Mark Maron. This will be an interview format show, but out in the world. I'm going to go out in the world to talk to people in environments that mean something to them, or something out of their comfort zone.

But it will be candid conversations with creative people and interesting people the way I do it. We'll be doing, we'll be setting up that show. I think every episode we will, we will explore my various methods of preparation, which have nothing to do with preparation. So that's happening. I don't know what channel it will be. I don't know when it will start, but that is happening. But Marin on IFC returns to the cable airwaves on May 14th. And I've encouraged some of you who are not radical cord cutters, and I'm sorry to offend any of you who take your cord cutting disposition as an emblem of your righteous fuck you demeanor, did not mean to push any buttons.

I guess I keep cable by default because I don't think I'd watch anything if I didn't occasionally sit on my couch and try to figure out how to watch on demand shows, which is still baffling to me. I don't know what channels I have. I'm very frustrated with my cable box. I'm about to call Time Warner and tell them to shove it up their giant mechanical asshole because it takes a lot of time for me to switch channels and it seems to be making weird noises. Is there any reason to complain about this publicly?

Not really. Look, I'm frustrated with cable too, but the point is, is that sometimes we have to respect these arcane methods, these ancient systems, these decaying mechanical paradigms in order to garner the attention necessary to continue doing something within that paradigm as it slowly deflates and loses its wind and gasps away as the other thing moves full force into the future. Well, I guess what I'm saying rather poetically and probably not in the best way possible, is that if you could get IFC for the airing of my show, that would be helpful in the ratings

game, which still matters to people in that game. So May 14th, get IFC for a couple of months or at least find out if you have it. Or you can wait a year until it goes on Netflix or you can get it on iTunes. A lot of ways to get it. Or you can wait a year until it goes on Netflix. Or you can get it on iTunes. A lot of ways to get it. Or you can DVR it. That's fine. Look, I'm just saying I'm excited about the show. I know that's not what came out.

But I'm excited about the show. I think this season is the best season we've done. I think the stories are good. They're funny. They're interesting. I think I'm better. I'm no Olivier. But I think by the third season here, I've got the hang of being me on TV.

So enjoy. Enjoy Marin on IFC. The first episode co-stars Constance Zimmer, Elliot Gould, Alex Rocco, and also the lovely Lucy Davis, who plays my manager this season. Very exciting. I'm excited for you to enjoy them. So that's the big plug on that front. I just have a lot of things going on. And obviously, I'm on the road. And obviously, I'm in a hotel room. And obviously, I'm not eating well. And obviously, I don't know if I have allergies or cancer. And obviously, there are problems. But did I mention Parker

Posey is on the show today? The lovely and amazing indie film goddess. Great actress. Incredible dynamic person. Came over here to my temporary studio in my hotel room to talk to me. That's always a little awkward. Yeah, I'm doing interviews. Coming up to the hotel room. Yeah, it's not even a suite.

We're just basically in my bedroom sitting at a little table. She brought her doggy who peed. You'll hear that, I believe. Her dog peed twice in my hotel room. I guess I better not mention the name of the hotel because that might not be a good thing for me. She's somehow trained it to pee on Kleenex. All right? That worked once.

Then the other one was, yeah, maybe I should keep it to myself. So what have I been doing? I mean, you know I'm on tour. And we added a bunch of dates. So you can go to WTFpod.com slash calendar. Because the dates I've got coming up, obviously Seattle and Vancouver this Saturday, May 9th. And May 10th at the Symphony Hall in San Francisco. But May 14th, I'm at the Asheville, North Carolina at the Orange Peel.

And May 15th, I'm in Charleston at the Charleston Music Hall. And May 16th, I'm at the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta. May 17th, I'm at the Joy Theater in New Orleans. June 5th, the Playhouse Square in Cleveland. I had a bunch of shows. In Chicago, I'm doing two shows at the Vic Theater on June 6th. June 7th, I'm in Minneapolis at Pantages. June 25th, at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, New York.

June 26th, at the BAM Opera House in Brooklyn, New York. June 27th, the Paramount Theater, Huntington, New York. June 28th, Count Basie Theater, Red Bank, New Jersey. July 10th, Aladdin Theater, Portland, Oregon. July 11th, Revolution Hall in Portland, Oregon. July 10th, Aladdin Theater, Portland, Oregon. July 11th, Revolution Hall in Portland, Oregon. July 24th, Boulder Theater, Boulder, Colorado. July 25th, Paramount Theater in Denver, Colorado. So if I named your city, go to wtfpod.com slash calendar and get your tickies. Get your tickets. God damn, that's a long tour. What am I doing here on Wednesday?

I'm interviewing Terry Gross, the host of NPR's Fresh Air, live in front of an audience at an event at the Brooklyn Academy of Music at the BAM Opera House. That's for the Radio Love Fest. That's this Wednesday. Okay? All right? Yes, I'm going to talk to the amazing interviewer herself,

the world-renowned Terry Gross. We're going interviewer to the amazing interviewer herself, the world-renowned Terry Gross. We're going interviewer to interviewer, head to head. So here's what I learned, and here's what I'm learning as I get older, is that as I get older, I don't know if I am more mature or if I'm maturing or if I'm getting more mature or I'm just getting tired. I think it might be tired I don't know if I'm getting wiser or I'm just not remembering as much as I used to it's a fine line between maturity and exhaustion as you get older and wisdom and just um I I don't I I don't really remember

and I I feel okay about that I'm not carrying that with me anymore. I've relieved myself of that burden of that memory involuntarily as my brain flickers off. As the years keep stacking up certain areas of the brain, the lights are going out. We're turning off that marquee. We're turning off the fuck you dad marquee. That show is not running anymore. We closed that show. We closed the Why Mom. That show ran for 50 years and it was very popular with an audience of one, the bad part of me, and we've had to close that show down too. And I have no problem with that. I don't know if that's wisdom, but it's a

little better. It's a little better. So I'm here, I'm in New York and I'm spending time with the few friends that I have that I've had for many years. I find that's important to do. You know, Louie's out of town, so I missed him. But like I went and saw my buddy, John Daniel, we go back, he's in the music business. He spent an hour with him, got caught up, talked about his business. I talked about my business. We had, we ate. We said like, you look good. Your health. Okay. Yeah. My health's okay. Everybody in your family. Okay. Yeah. Everything's okay. All right. Well, it's good to see you. Feels good. That's what you do with old friends. Sometimes that's all you can do. And that's enough. Like you're not going to catch up on

everything. You're not in the loop of their lives but you can certainly check in say i love you buddy went up to my buddy sam lipsight's house the uh the genius novelist checked in with him hung out worked through some sadness some uh told him some stuff in my life he told me some stuff in his we had a range of emotions we spent a couple hours together i saw saw his kids, saw his wife, Corridwen. A very pleasant time. Spent three hours in the apartment just hanging out, snacking, having a coffee, getting up, sitting down, having a hug, you know, maybe having a few welling up of the eyes. And then we took a little walk. See you later, buddy.

Good friend. Love you. We checked in. That's good. Once or twice a year. Got to do it. Got to do it if we're not going to be traveling together if we're not backpacking got to check in just took a walk with todd berry which was just like the old times i don't know if you guys remember this why would you many years ago me and todd were sort of in the same boat he's one of my favorite

comics and he's a good old friend of mine but you know a lot of the other guys like louis and nick de palo jeff ross or who was then jeff lifsholtz people a lot of those people were working all the clubs and todd and i were sort of limited to one or club and we you know but hang around clubs but we'd spend a lot of days just walking around the village talking about shit talking about comics talking about clothes talking about money talking about where we live just talking like a couple of dudes talking that's part of our job so today you know i ran into you know todd last night briefly and then today he called me up you want to have coffee so we had coffee then we had some chinese food then we walked around soho then i got some ice cream which

you don't feel great about though todd didn't eat ice cream. Spent a few hours with Todd catching up, doing what we used to do like old buddies. And you know what? Didn't miss a beat. Didn't seem any different than it ever did. Never any tension with your true old friends. And that's what I'm doing in New York. That and some work. So now, let's enjoy my chat with the lovely Parkerer posey who you may know from any number of movies

do you need credits would that help you place her if some of you were like parker who i mean i would hope that's not the case so many waiting for guffman henry fool she was in Best in Show. Clock Watchers. Party Girl. Wow. Coneheads. Dazed and Confused way back. She's amazing. And she's in my hotel room.

So enjoy this. We can wait for clean water solutions. Or we can engineer access to clean water. We can acknowledge indigenous cultures. Or we can learn from indigenous voices. We can demand more from the earth, or we can demand more from ourselves. At York University, we work together to create positive change for a better tomorrow. Join us at yorku.ca slash write the future. 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. So, what, um... Oh, Gracie.

What's she doing now? She just peed all bit. Oh, she just peed on the rug here. That's okay. Hold on. Do you want to hold my mic? Yeah, go ahead. Yeah, I don't want to.

I'm not concerned about the pee on the rug. Are you? I guess I have a different relationship with hotels. That's an 11-year-old dog. Yeah. Yeah, her name is Gracie. She should be a Bichon Poudre Maltese. She's 11.

She's very smart. Is that your longest relationship to date? Yes. What about you? What's your longest relationship uh i don't know i think uh you know people used to not live so long oh so that's it yeah it's one of the things you know do you believe in karma i kinda it's you're gonna like you're here to kind of live through all your stories through various people oh my god from different lifetimes. It kind of makes sense.

But if this is the one I'm living now, I can't imagine how shitty the other one must have been. Do we get it right? Are we aware when we know, when we nail it? I don't know. But you believe it? It makes the most sense to me. My longest relationship was probably eight years. Yeah.

Eight. That's big. That was in your 20s? I don't know. I had a five year, a three year, a two year. Yeah. And now I wonder what the point of it is. Yeah, now it's just devastation.

Now it's just bad theater. Right? Bad theater of two people trying to act like they're doing something differently. That's how it's bad theater. It's like, I don't do this anymore. I'm not this person anymore. I'm better. Yeah, I don't understand this.

Either you connect with someone or you're pretending something else. Right, or you're waiting for it. Maybe it'll kick in. You ever do that one? It's going to kick in pretty soon. They like me a lot. I think this is going to kick in any minute. I'm going to feel like they feel. You ever do that one? It's going to kick in pretty soon. They like me a lot. I think this is going to kick in any minute. I'm going to feel like they feel.

I've done that one. I've done real intense ones that just get crazy. I've had like three. The last three encounters. Oh, really? Yeah, that's what my therapist calls relationships. He doesn't call them relationships because it's too heavy. It's too loaded.

So you knew their names. You encounter someone. I didn you knew their names. You encounter someone. I didn't know their names. No. So you encounter someone. And if you have a true encounter, it's a real connection. But if you're like dating, I mean, doesn't dating sound so fabricated? Does it even happen anymore?

I don't fucking know what that is. I don't date. Have you had this moment where you're like, oh, I don't have to put up with this shit oh yeah yeah i'm i'm not that see i i'm a curious person and i and i have a hard time saying no yeah so in the past few months um i've been uh asked out on a date by men in their 70s. Wow. Yeah, like I was at a gala a few nights ago. A gala for what? No, it was last week at PS122.

Oh, for a thing? Yeah, and one of the board members said, hey, there's a man here who really wants to meet you, and he was really excited that you were here. And then I meet him, and he has two grown daughters. So he says, can I take you out to lunch? And I couldn't say like, no, I don't eat lunch. Right, I'm against lunch.

I can't, I was like, sure. And this could be interesting. And so I gave him my email and I didn't give him a fake email. Right. And- But who was this guy? Was he a legit guy? He emailed me right away Of course

As you were walking away? As he was Yeah, as he was in the cab And what was this guy? Was he an artiste? Was he an entrepreneur? Was he a philanthropist? Yeah, he's a philanthropist

And then So yeah, the older guys Was he an entrepreneur? Was he a philanthropist? Yeah, he's a philanthropist. And then, so yeah, the older guys. And this one man, I had a few dates with. Gracie's just making a bed right now. That's what she's doing. And she digs like that. Okay. She's not burying something on my bed?

No. Okay, so you go out with this. How old is he, 90? I was dating a 60-year-old Like a year ago Well, that's not so horrible How old are you? No, 46 I'm 51

I liked it You did? What about it? He was mature And he was It's okay You know I would hope so at 60

You know what? Actually, he was really immature Immature? Yeah, but he was experienced I should say And he was fascinating What was he, an artistature? Yeah, but he was experienced, I should say. And he was fascinating. What was he, an artiste?

He's a writer. A writer? A known writer? Yeah, yeah, I think so. I think so, yeah. And it was fun? How long did you go out with that guy, this 60-year-old? I was on and off for a year, a year and a half.

And then it kind of fizzled. And that's what he was like, it's just going to be devastation, Parker. Really? Yeah. For him? Yeah. It was however this turns out.

It's just going to be devastated. And I'm like, well, come on. We've got to ride this out. We care about each other. We love each other. And you can't just you know destroy something um in front of me you know and he was afraid he's very afraid he's very masculine um and like uh people don't think he's a minotaur right um a rugged old uh alpha male yeah yeah yeah yeah and just blew through his life

like on fire. Trying to avoid the crash of heartbreak. The pain and emptiness. Yeah. But you were going to bring it out in him. He decided like this.

I did, obviously. You crushed him. He'll get a book out of it, maybe. Yeah, it was an inspiration. Sure, that's it. You were a muse, a pain muse.

That's what you are. I was a muse. I died that's it. You were a muse, a pain muse. That's what you are. I was a muse. I died a thousand times and he watched me. I just don't, you know, you get to a point where it's like, what are we doing? Is it just, what is it about? Is it about sex? Is it about, you know, are we being honest with ourselves? What's happening?

I think it's about evolving. Yeah. And in a partnership. Yeah. I mean, I think a true partnership should be creative and alive, and when it's dead, it's over. And have you had those? If there's a deadliness. Right.

Well, does that come from living with each other, like the deadliness? Maybe. Have you done that? Yeah, yeah. How's that work for you? You know, I'm such a nurturer, a caretaker. I love to cook. I love to make house oh

yeah do you take in strays stray humans have you had any straight yeah um i uh i like that i'm kind of a hippie mama yeah i have a place upstate you do yeah it's an old farmhouse and bless you she's coughing now. Get it out. I think she's all right. Yeah, she's good. So you go upstate and you hang out? I go upstate. Now I have to.

Yeah, I've been renting it, though, because I can't afford it anymore. Because, you know, nothing pays anymore unless you get a big TV show. So I've been renting. You never stop working. Yeah, that's right. That's right. You've been working on, you never stopped working. Yeah, that's right. That's right.

But I'm not in that high caliber of, you know, I don't make millions of dollars at all. Does that upset you? What role could you, what million dollar role would you like to do? You see yourself as a leading lady. Would you like to be a superhero i um yeah that all sounds like fun uh there's only roles for superheroes now i know i know i could be like a scientist in one of those shows yeah or villain maybe could you be a villain i could be a villain sure um maybe in the furiousious 7 or whatever. Whatever they are, yeah.

What about me in that? Sure. I could fit right in. The Avengers, you're the lady who made the thing. Yeah. What, Dr. So-and-so? Yeah. And some psychic lady that comes out of nowhere from the Matrix.

Right. And knows everything. And knows everything. And knows everything. Why can't those movies be more fun? Or just funny? You know what?

Don't watch them. I haven't seen them. I know. Well, I went into one of them just to see when I was on location. To read for them?

No, no. I'm not the kind of woman that's in those movies. I'm too old, first of all. But I think I could fit into one of those. But you've got no problem with TV. You've done a lot of TV.

No, I don't. But what I was going to say is in those scary movies, in these horror movies, don't you think everyone could be having a lot more fun? I think they should have more fun to make their death even more amazing. They all seem to know it's coming. Yeah, and they're really cool about it.

And this insane thing is happening around them. Well, they're stupid, if you really look at the reality frame. That's what I think too, which is really funny. It's really funny. I was in Scream 3, and when I was talking to Wes Craven about it,

I was like, yeah, why are these people in this world? What did he say? Like, they have to be crazy, you know? Or they would just leave. And I know that's like, it's a crazy thing to say. He laughed.

He laughed. He's like, this is a horror movie. What do you think you're doing? And so it was fun to kind of play with the genre of that. And because it's fun being scared. And if there's there's someone chasing you wearing a mask you're gonna be screaming and maybe laughing and like dealing with it like oh my god i'm about to die and like holding on to whoever's in front of you

and like i i don't see that passion you know in those movies and i would love that yeah and i think i think other people would love that too it seems hackneyed now they just sort of know it's coming and they blase kind of ah but there's no like i'm dying and it's great i'm dying i love you i'm gonna miss you what's on the other side where are my parents say goodbye i forgive you yeah yeah that's true the one thing you don't see is the sad desperate humiliation of those moments yeah those that would be really terrifying you can't play that shit real in those movies yeah where the sort of begging and pleading in a real way and the horrendous fear of knowing that shit horrible yeah the paradox too is that there'd really be no sense no way to make sense of it besides other movies that you've seen do you know what i mean like i broke my wrist last year

um and i just kept thinking of agent brody in homeland and it just kept you know and it was a really bad break and i got wrist surgery like pins in my wrist and i just had this loop that i and i felt like i was being you know tortured i talked and then i was in homeland yes i heard that she was great that was a great interview. She's a very earnest person. Oh, yeah. She's a serious actress. She's a very serious person.

Yeah, she's major. Yeah, it was kind of intense. You know, I saw her right before, yeah, I saw her right before she did that show. Her intensity struck me, you know? Yeah. And then so when I saw that she was in the show, she was working for the CIA,

I was like, wow, she really carries that. That she's meant to be right there and play that part. But not, I don't know, any other actress who could do that successfully. Well, she's real kind of like, she's a very controlled person. She's very intense. You know, she runs a tight ship with her vessel i believe she's out there the stakes are really high yeah how did that happen i love that how do you explain that in people what the their velocities their how do you what do you say about yourself like

if someone were to say hey parker what's what velocity are you operating are you following i'm one of i'm one of those like I think everything forms and shapes you before you're six years old and you just keep... Oh, yeah. Well, what happened then? Like, where'd you come from? What's the source of the Parker Posey? Where did it start? I'm from Louisiana.

I was born in Baltimore, Maryland. My dad was stationed in Vietnam. He was stationed in Baltimore there. He was drafted. Did he go to Vietnam? Yeah, yeah. So he was gone for the first two years. Really? Yeah. So that made me very independent. What did he come out with? How was he?

Is he alright? The pictures of him from Vietnam, he's holding a martini. Out in the jungle? No, they're in the office. They're drinking. So not a necklace of ears, a martini.

He got shot at, and a bullet went through his helmet. Oh, God. And what struck him was how personal he took it. And he thought, why would anyone want to shoot me? Me. Huh? And you think of that,

it's like, we're so insane. I can't believe we're still doing it. Well, we're doing it. We're people here. Yeah. The obvious thing,

we're people here. We're doing it from the sky with less men on the ground now. Yeah. It's a little more impersonal and horrific. But that is interesting because you're in the Army, whether you got drafted or not, you're in the forces and you're part of this team that's supposed to be defending something. And it's seen generally by the military and by the people at large as the Army, not as that guy. That's right.

But if you're that guy, why wouldn't you as that guy. That's right. But if you're that guy, why wouldn't you take it personally? That's right. Yeah. But he came out mentally okay? Yeah. No, he suffered from PTSD, I think, later in his life.

Oh, really? And he has prostate cancer now. But he's a really funny, you know, I describe him as a comedian without a venue. He's like, he could walk out on stage and have a show. He's hysterical. So you're close to him still? He's the center of attention.

Yeah. Are they still together? Yes. Wow. Yeah. So you come from that stability or that commitment, that loyalty. I think it's called their crazy dance. And, you know, yeah, it is a compatibility.

Yeah, they're still together. And you've got brothers and sisters? And they're tight. I have a twin brother. Identical? No. Does that happen? No.

With boys and girls? No. What's the other kind called? Fraternal. Yeah. So there were two separate eggs. Right. Hanging out together. Yeah. No What's the other kind called? Fraternal Yeah So there were two separate eggs Right Hanging out together

Yeah And so my mom thinks that I was conceived later than my brother Like a few minutes? Is it a quick turnaround on that one? Let's go I'd say maybe a few weeks I don't know Is that possible?

Does that happen? Yeah, it can. It's like a cat. Cats can have a few different kittens from several different fathers just in the same litter. That's right. I didn't know humans could do that. Is that her theory? Yeah, that's what she thinks.

Because I was so premature. We were both premature. Like how premature? Six weeks. So I was only like two and a half pounds. Oh, my God. Were you in the incubator? And I stayed in an incubator for the first six weeks of my life.

And my brother was five pounds. I was two and a half pounds. So I was a preemie. Yeah. So that's her theory. I was very, very tiny. So I was born fighting for my life and the doctors didn't think I was going to live. And there's a big drama to the story that I heard every year of,

we need a name for the death certificate. What do you want to- That was the family story? Yeah. Just in case? Yeah. And so they named me Parker and my middle Christian, because they asked for the help of Jesus. And I was raised Catholic. Well, maybe Jesus stepped in. I think he did.

And my dad, according to my dad, who was holding a six-pack of beer, you know, stationed in Baltimore, Maryland, he looks down at a beer can, and he looks at me in the incubator and he's on his knees, you know, praying and he's like, my daughter is the size of this beer can. Please, Jesus, please, Jesus, let my baby live. And then I screamed. And that's the story. That's the story?

It's very dramatic, yeah. That's good. Yeah, it's good, right? It's a real, that's what I did. My dramatic yeah that's good yeah it's good right it's a real my daughter's she's a she's a beer can on legs yeah and I'd be like

what are you talking about and he's like telling this story like that's so funny you know but he like made up stories like he

when my brother and I were in kindergarten my brother raised his hand and the teacher asked what our parents did for work and my brother said my dad was an indian a hundred years ago that was one of the stories that my dad but maybe he was an indian indian yeah american indian but he wasn't i don't know but maybe he was who knows but we talked

about karma do you believe that the past life thing too? Yeah, sure. Why not? I think it's fun. What's fun? But do you believe it? I'm entertaining the idea. I'm entertaining the idea. It's like, I'm not going to like stand up and like, I believe this. I like to. Sure. Why not? Entertain the idea.

Yeah, sure. Why not? I think it's fun. Right. It's like, hell yeah, maybe I was. But then in a more serious. Maybe I was Cleopatra. Oh, she said she was Cleopatra too.

How can we both be Cleopatra? Oh, I don Cleopatra too Maybe we were both Cleopatra I don't know Maybe And then the fun ends And you're like this is stupid Where are we eating This is stupid Where are we eating

That's wife right there That's all of it So you talked to Louie On the phone you said I texted him You texted him And he texted you back I said I was going to talk to you And he said

She's an amazing He phrased it very nicely Oh good Like It was nice I mean I should even tell you It was that nice That's nice

That's nice of him He said I saw him She's a huge and rare talent That's a good and rare talent. That's a good quote. I like that. Yeah, you can put that verb.

That's a verb for you. Yeah, that's great. You know, when I do social media, that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to start with that. Louis C.K. says, quote, huge and rare talent. That's such a good idea.

What was your experience working with him? Was it crazy? Because that was a pretty disturbing role. Oh my God, it was so sad. Brutal. Brutal. But how much of that did you bring to the table?

Because I know, like I've been on a couple of shows, I've worked with him as a director. Because the script doesn't usually, I mean,

he's pretty sparse on the page. No, this was all written. All written. All written. In terms of the tone? In terms of the tone. I mean, like, you could see the dialogue,

but how much did you have to bring emotionally to that thing? It was all you, wasn't it? Yeah. I think, you know what I loved about that part? It was a real mix of characters that I loved, you know, that I'd watch on TV or in films. Growing up, like, Ruth Gordon. Oh, right. Yeah, yeah. like Ruth Gordon. Oh, right.

Yeah. Yeah. Adam's Rib. Oh, yeah. Adam's Rib. I love too. She's great.

Yeah. That was her. Oh, she wrote that. She wasn't in that. Right. That was her script for Spencer Tracy. But this,

you know, this woman that's like a, a free spirit and she's searching and just living her life and absorbing and she's dying you know yeah she's gonna die you knew that at the beginning yeah this is it so i did this i did a you know an actor named frank wiley yeah he uh had a benefit reading uh he organized a benefit reading for his his kids school and we did a play reading of christopher durang's beyond therapy oh yeah and i played a therapist and louis played a therapist yeah marissa tomei louis played a therapist yes uh-huh uh mario canton uh nathan lane it was this amazing cast for like 200 people

right sold out in like a second so i met louie um on stage doing that and he said i you know really let's work something you know let's work together i'd love to do something with you so we had i gave him my number and like a few nights after that i texted him he texted me back and we met at this uh little place down the street me, and we hung out for like two or three hours just talking. And he said, you know, okay, I see a lot of different things going on with you. You can play this. You can play that. You're reminding me of this story I heard at an airport, this woman,

the story that she had cancer. Right. And an artist friend I know. And we talked about, would you ever want to, you know, die? I would love to die, you know, and play a character who is dying and to, you know, have a death scene. Yeah.

It's interesting to me. So he conceived the whole character with you. Yes. And then when he walked me to my apartment, it was really nice out, and I said, come up to my roof. I have a roof garden in the building. And I went up to the roof, and then I went to the ledge and looked over, and he went, no, my God, what are you doing?

He freaked out. Yeah, he freaked out. So that's how that all came to life. And he only took like two or three weeks to write it. Yeah, he got quick. And I went over to his apartment, and he said, this isn't an audition, but I'd like you to read this. And I read it out loud once, and then like a month later we shot it and then when i when i had to die and and let go of you know when i had to do that scene in the hospital

i was not happy and it was very hard um because i felt like i had brought so much life to her um and i was really upset that i was... What you got into? Yeah. You were all excited to die. Yeah, and then I was like, oh, no. So you shot that all in one, so he cut that in... It was like six days. Right.

Yeah, we shot that in six days, and now I'm like, I want to bring her back to life. How? Writing something. Did you tell him? Is that what you were texting him about? We need to bring her back to life. I did have this idea that Liz would be brought to life

and I'd work as a zombie in the bookstore in Brooklyn. And everybody was just okay with it? She's back. Yeah. Hi. Yeah. But she'd still be nice and stuff. Sure.

She wouldn't eat people. It seems to be funny. Maybe she'd eat books. But maybe she'd just be a and stuff sure she wouldn't eat people maybe she'd eat books but maybe she'd just be a ghost I loved that part I thought I'd play parts like that my whole career you know they're just not written that's not in style anymore what kind of part is that

you think like what do you mean that kind of part like witty well you're always very witty and you're always very compelling and you're sometimes a little kooky and intense thank you like because like certain people seem to know how to use you right that's right i mean christopher guest seems to know how to use you right he's like will you come be the parker posey thing yeah yeah those movies are so much fun i love him so much and you and those are primarily improvised right they're all improvised

yeah and you're comfortable with that you love it I at first it's a little it's a little scary

how much does he give you in each movie so there's like an outline it's like so Meg and Hamilton Swan are in therapy you know in the first scene

you see this in therapy and they talk about which movie is this oh yeah right okay right they talk about their dog. Which movie is this? Oh, yeah, right. Okay, right. They talk about their dog, Beatrice. Who's your husband? Hitchcock.

Michael Hitchcock. Okay, yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah, okay. He's so good. Yeah, yeah. This is a catalog. They were described as a catalog couple. Uh-huh.

Like, all cataloged. Their house is all cataloged. They're really concerned that their dog Beatrice won't be able to compete in the Westminster dog show because she caught them having sex and she's been having a hard time and she also and this didn't make it into the movie it was a really funny scene where i'm yelling at my maid because the dog um pooped in my husband's slipper right because she was really upset beatrice yeah so she she pooped in the slipper it's just so absurd and then you just i love him how great is that

isn't that cute and funny yeah i'm like what is this you know yelling at lucy lucy look what beatrice did what am i supposed to do about this oh so funny almost robot people in a way except they have everything's invested in this dog but the relationship dynamic is they're both sort of like cookie cutter people high achiever yeah all the emotion is around the end yeah exactly yeah and uh but i was also i made her a pill popper and a and a stoner and none of that was in there so but every now and then that's great yeah i take a sip i think it was i think it was in this in the outline oh that she was medicated. Which is too bad because that's when all the medication was becoming popular.

Yeah, yeah. Everybody's on it. Now everyone's medicated. Are you medicated? No, I'm not. Me neither. We're the last holdouts. This juice is What just depends how hard do you want to fight the fight? You know what I mean? I mean, I imagine

I think they just kind of give people medication without any real diagnosis of anything. It's just sort of like, oh, you don't feel right? Try these. Come back in three weeks. If you start talking funny or you put on 12 pounds or you can't fuck anymore, call me up. Yeah. Here's the pill. Yeah.

If you feel better, then great. Then we'll stay on it for a while. But it's got to change you and make you feel funny. I don't know. I think something goes on with the brain. People identify themselves as OCD or ADD. Have you noticed that? Yeah, there's a lot of identifiers.

Yeah, they start to explain. Bipolar one or two. Yeah, I'm bipolar. I'm this or I'm that. Good for you. It's like you're a human being. Well, I don't know what people really expect out of themselves, you know, trying to adapt to all the input.

You know what I mean? It's going to be a pretty, it's a rough shift. Yeah, I agree. I agree. The kids half our age are sort of, you know, wired in in a different way than we are. Yeah. A lot of noise for us. We come from the crashing wave of the 60s.

We're sensitive, open people. Yeah, we were in the Reagan years. Yeah, it's just like there's... We rebelled against the Reagan years. There was less onslaught of fucking with our heads. I don't know what it is. And also like the 20-somethings too, like the movies they watched.

Lots of slasher films. Yeah, right. They're numb or something. It's so hard to talk about it without feeling like, those kids. I know. I know. This is how we get old. I guess.

Are we right? Yeah. Should we be concerned, though? It's a generation gap. You don't have kids, right? No. I don't either. So how concerned can I really be?

It's like, well, they seem problematic. I don't have kids right no i don't either so how concerned can i really be it's like well they seem they seem problematic i don't know directly but i find them annoying yeah sometimes oh yeah but also when i don't have kids and we're not married you and me i don't really know how old i am most of the time i don't know how old other people are how old do you feel do you feel 30 no i don't even know i don't even know if i felt 30 when i felt 30 there's some part of my brain that remains sort of steady the same way it always was and then every once in a while you look in the mirror and you're like oh that's happening okay but then like i don't know like you always feel the same you just keep getting older i know you always feel the same yeah i still feel still feel the same. Some people slow down, though.

You have friends, right? Sometimes I see people that I haven't seen in 10 years. That's always an indicator. Like, you see somebody you haven't seen in, like, 15 years. And now, all of a sudden, we're the age we are. And you're like, oh, boy, what happened to you? You seem to have slowed down a bit. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

A deadliness, right? Oh, what are you going to do? Not experiencing their life, life right that's kind of maybe we're projecting that maybe they see us and they think the same thing like oh that's something's gone wrong there no i don't know all right i don't know i don't know i don't know if i'm talking to a 20 year old or a 35 year old i don't fucking know. Do you? Generally? I can tell if they're teenagers, usually. I can tell. And I don't have that much experience.

I can tell the difference of the generation gap of the late 20s and 30s. Yeah. Yeah. Especially with the girls. But does it bother you that they don't? I sometimes talk about things on the podcast or i'll tweet something or i'll bring it up in conversation about movies that we grew up with and then and they're like what i had no idea this was even a thing like like the godfather how

you not watch the fucking godfather that's crazy right yeah and they don't care yeah and so are we but are we just old people going like you you've got to watch The Godfather? You dummy. Yeah. So when did you start acting? What happened? So you're in New Orleans? You're in Louisiana, New Orleans?

That's where you grew up? After Baltimore? Around there. Around there. In the South. It's sweaty and hot and interesting. Yeah. And your dad did what after Vietnam?

Car dealership. My uncle Van, Truman Van Van Bekoven. My dad was his, he's like a surrogate dad to my dad. And he was a big, like big daddy from, you know, Tennessee Williams played. Oh, really? A really big character. You know, if the ketchup wasn't on the table, he'd slam his hand down on the table and just say, ketchup! You know?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And he was a real star. If ketchup wasn't on the table, he'd slam his hand down on the table and just say, ketchup! And he was a real star. And so my dad was a car salesman for him. And then, but in the beginning, my dad was going to be an English teacher, but he didn't make enough money. So he's very, you know, he'd read to me and tell me stories. My grandmother, his mother would sing sad cowboy songs and make everyone cry where was she from louisiana but she was also uh from belgium so they're from louisiana your father your dad was from louisiana so he always had a new car though right yeah this was during the cadillac so he was a cadillac salesman so a big old cadillac

yeah in the 70s that's good those are big yeah and my uncle my uncle Truman loaned me one of his Cadillacs when I was doing a play at the Geffen Playhouse

in my 20s and had no money and he loaned me this big in LA? yeah this big red convertible Cadillac where from Louisiana?

or he was he had a house in San Diego so he got someone to drive down there. Oh, my God. It was so nice. It was like driving a boat. What play in your 20s did you do?

It was a play called Four Dogs and a Bone, a John Patrick Shanley play. Was that the early thing, the start? Did you want to be theater? No, I started out as a ballerina. I started out as a dancer. That was probably the first. I'm just doing, my wrist is a little tight. the start did you want to be theater no i started out as a ballerina started out as a dancer that was probably the first um i'm just doing my wrist is well no but you were saying it while you were

talking about dancing yeah and i took it as dancing that's how i received that yeah that i was getting a small you were like saying i started off as a ballerina and then i went to modern which is what i'm doing now if i haven't been turned on to modern dance, I could see myself dancing like that. I was really into dance. So I was in a company when I was 11. Really? So you were good. In Missouri, Louisiana.

Oh, well, how good were you? Good? I was good. Were you tall enough? I wasn't tall enough. But I had... Moxie. I had presence.

Yeah. I did. Yeah. And so I was in a little company, and then I auditioned for North Carolina School of the Arts when I was 12, and I went to the school there. And I didn't get in, and the dean of the school called my dad. No, my dad called the dean of the school, said dad and uh no my dad called the dean of school

said my daughter's gonna be really upset what do i tell her and he said tell her she's an actress and that's how it started i was like really yeah 12 13 years old you went in for dancing and they were like no no she's and then did he say well could you take her as an actress then yeah exactly i was like can i just go there and hang out because they did they have an acting program they did but but in college. Oh, so you were too young. But I went back for the summer programs in high school. And it was there that I really...

Did you walk in with a teacher? Yeah, a few teachers. How old were you? 13, 14, 15. you? Uh, 13, 14, 15. But even earlier, my cousin reminded me of this.

I'd forgotten about it. And it's, and it's funny when I was eight and we were at camp, uh, strong river camp and farm in Mississippi. Uh, I was, they asked me to be the,

the director and the leader of the, of the play for the, for the kids. And so I made a little red writing hood detective uncovering the case of Goldilocks and the Three Bears as Kojak. And this was your conception? Yeah. And then I walked out on stage.

So did you have a lollipop? I walked out on stage and I said, who loves you, baby? And everyone started laughing and i remember thinking this isn't funny i'm a detective they're laughing at me no i was like no yeah this is really serious yeah what the fuck is wrong with you and i remember that i remember that feeling and you were 13 or 12 i was eight all right and so all right. So you were like, I'm playing this straight. I'm Kojak. I'm a detective.

Yeah, I loved him. Little Red Riding Hood. Yeah, Tully Savalas? Yeah, I loved him. Yeah, yeah, he's great. But I always knew I'd do something different, and teachers told me. You had no idea that it was funny? That's cute.

No, no. Do you know when you're funny now? Or do you play everything pretty serious? Because, I mean, those Christopher Guest movies, those are pretty you play everything pretty serious because i mean those christopher guest movies those are pretty they're pretty serious very serious yeah and you know yeah it's like he puts yeah he puts a hand on your shoulder and says for a take you know this is not too far from the truth you know people are in every movie yeah people are really like this oh that's that's his direction.

That's his basic direction. It's like, don't even think to play this. Don't, no, no, no, no. That's like, that's shameful. If you're pushing that thing, like, I'm going to be really funny. That's his quiet reminder. This is real. And he doesn't look at them like satires.

Yeah, this is like, this is how people are now. And you know, hanging around him too, funny stuff happens around him. You know, you just be in an elevator and a stranger will just kind of be odd. So he... Maybe you're just, your perception changes around him. Yeah, people kind of carry that around. Well, he, like, I would imagine that would happen if you're with him. You would sort of see the world like that and everybody.

It's sort of like, there's a few comic book artists, why am I forgetting his name? Daniel Klaus. Even R. Crum and stuff, that if you read enough of that stuff, your perception sort of shifts. And you can kind of see the grotesque nature right alongside the beauty of all things. Yeah, yeah.

That's good. Yeah, that's nice. It is nice, yeah. Have you gone down to the new museum? The Whitney? Yeah. Oh, do you mean right down here on Bowery? No, I've got to go to the Whitney.

Did you see the Whitney? I just got here. Did you see the Whitney? I just got here. Oh, wow, when? Didn't it just open? I got here the day before yesterday. And I did a thing.

And then I've been told to go over there. To the Whitney, right? Yeah, but is it Crazy Lines and shit? On the weekend, yeah. Maybe during the week I'll go. Yeah. Did you go? I haven't gone yet.

You're talking about the new museum right down here. Yeah, I was talking about, yeah. The Groovy Museum. Because it's right there, yeah. The cool shit. Where you're like, today, these are're just pen on tile pieces i know the art world i have a couple of friends who are artists it's kind of scary now is it why it's hard it's difficult um i know i'm dating a painter yeah and and it's like it's its own thing but it's like

it's very small yeah the scene yeah yeah there's 12 people yeah it's hard, it's very small. Yeah. The scene. Yeah. Yeah. There's 12 people. Yeah. It's hard to make a living. Does she work it? Is she good at like schmoozing or is she in a, in, in the click or is she not? She's like sort of like a,

is there politics involved? All politics, all politics, but she's doing okay. From what I understand. Cool. How's your friend doing? She's doing okay. Although she doesn't have a gallery anymore.

Is she a painter? Yeah, she's a painter. She's amazing. She does these inverted, reflected landscapes, like reflections of a pond. They're huge. And she doesn't have a gallery anymore? No. So she's out there in the wild?

No, yeah. But she's moving around. They're feeling it out. It's hard. It is hard. It's hard life in the arts. Yeah, yeah, it is. It is.

All right, so okay, so you go. Oh, right, North Carolina School of the Arts. On the summers. And to SUNY Purchase. I heard about SUNY Purchase as an acting school. But what kind of direction were you getting? How does it start? Who would you say your first training comes from?

Because I never know how actors are... The TV. Right. As a child. Either you've got it or you don't. I was fascinated by TV, yeah. But nobody said, like like here's some acting tips no no you're just like we're doing plays yeah but you know it's my dad it's my parents like

they were kind of observant eccentric people you know your mom's still around too right yeah right we covered so they what does she do um she uh she doesn't have a job job but uh she went to culinary school in new orleans she's an amazing cook and she loves foods she's really creative she's got great style and she just can she's kind of a southern bell like all that southern living and all that stuff she likes to do all that make breads and things yeah they go to new Orleans and like, yeah. Where do they live now? In a town called Laurel. So they're in Louisiana still?

That's in Mississippi, but it's two hours away. It's two hours away. Why Mississippi? My dad got transferred there. For the car job? Yeah. So we moved from Louisiana to Mississippi when I was 12. So the car dealership is sort of like being in the Army?

You just get stationed to places? We stationed you at another dealership is sort of like being in the Army? You just get stationed to places? We stationed you at another dealership? Yeah, he plays golf. But you're a real Southern person. Yeah. Yeah. Who had to leave? You know, I wanted to leave.

I wanted to leave very early. Why? Because it was provincial and small town. Because it was provincial and small town. And I wanted to remember the family affair, Buffy and Jody and Mr. French. Remember that show? Sebastian Cabot and Brian Keith. Sebastian Cabot.

And Jody. And they lived in this apartment. Yeah, in the townhouse, right? Yeah, but it was a huge building. I think it was in New York or Chicago. Oh, maybe. I don't know. Maybe it was New York. That's how you wanted you wanted but that's how I wanted to live I wanted to live in one of those

places with a lot of people around me yeah yeah all right so okay so you do plays in high school you're going to the thing you're going to what else did you do you do okay in school um in high school and like grades and stuff I was already out there yeah I liked English but I didn't I dropped accounting I couldn't even deal you know I couldn't even count

you're a pretty level headed kid I cheated on tests yeah I'd write answers on my shoes right for accounting yeah and who needs it

math in general not of any use to me someone who knows how to do this is going to take care of this for me. And you were pretty level-headed? You didn't get fucked up?

No. You know, I was pretty serious. I like to read and empathize with characters and books and movies. characters and books and movies and you know when I saw like my dinner with Andre as a 13 or 14 year old

I loved that. Who showed you that movie? It was on PBS. Were your parents like sort of well your mom was were they Well they were into that.

They were into good Yeah I guess so. Yeah like good tasting. High minded? Opinionated. High minded good tasting high minded opinionated high minded yeah high minded

yeah in movies that's not really funny you know this is funny yeah like that yeah so

and a good like camp sensibility like when Mommy Dearest would come on we'd oh yeah yeah we'd watch that

and I'd go like that's like you mom you know yeah yeah that's very nice right Mom. Yeah, yeah. That's very nice. Right? What did your brother end up doing?

Yeah, because my mother's mother, Faye, was kind of a star. And she really felt like, to me, like Joan Crawford or Susan Hayworth. Like she really clomped around in high heels and acted like a movie star and made her own clothes. Oh, really? Yeah. She's very dramatic. What did you ask about my brother? What's he do?

He took over the dealership for my dad. So he's in cars. Yeah, yeah. He's overseeing all that, and the car business is not doing well. I love my sister-in-law, Colm. They have three kids. That's nice.

Yeah, they come up here. Yeah? So they like to travel. And you get to see him? Especially my... I'm not as close to my brother as I am to my sister-in-law. His wife? Yeah. Oh.

Yeah. That's right. Did it go... Did something waver at some point no i think it was it's just always kind of been twins i know so there's no mystical connection there's a little bit there's no deep understanding um it's weird with siblings i guess there's a familiarity yet you get distant you know yeah do you have siblings? Yeah, I got a little brother. We're very, you know, we very, like, instinctively, we're wired very similarly.

Yeah. But, you know, you don't know people's wives if you're not in them. That's right. And I'm like. It's impossible to catch up sometimes. I'm kind of an anomaly to my, you know, family. What, the movie actress? Hey, how did this all happen? Yeah.

Like, what? She's in New York, being in plays, acting in movies. Do they like your work, though? They love the Chris Guest movies, but when I did Superman Returns, I remember my dad and I were having this conversation in the car. That's a big movie, right? Yeah. He was talking to me about teaching he's like you know you maybe you should think about teaching it's the worst and

you get a pension of some kind yeah and um and then i was like well i'm in a i'm in a big movie that's coming out and superman returns and then when he saw it, he, uh, his comment was, he said, well, I wasn't bored. Ugh. Brutal. Makes a comedian. Yeah. Makes a funny one.

I know, but it's a tough house. Yeah. Right. But it's, but it's weird when you do this, like they don't know how, they don't understand the nature of the business necessarily.

No. So they can only, they, there, there's constant concern unless, I don't know what it would take. Yeah. No. So they can only, there's constant concern. Unless, I don't know what it would take for them to go like, oh, she's good. What would you have to be on? It's not a real job.

Right. Ever. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, God. Yeah. It's hard. They're concerned.

That's the thing. It doesn't come out of anything other than that. Yeah. And fear. Right. Yeah. You're going to be okay. Mm-hmm.

So, but when did you So you went to LA When? I never went to LA Oh But you were there At the Geffen Playhouse Yeah

I was there in They cast you here Okay so I went to Sydney Purchase I got a job on a soap What soap? My senior year in college As the world turned

Oh yeah? And How was that experience? How many did you do? Like a million? Like did you do a hundred episodes? How was that experience? How many did you do? Like a million? Did you do 100 episodes? I was on only for a year and four months. They wanted me for three years,

but I had just gotten out of school. I was like, I'm not going to go somewhere for three years after four years of college. And so I had a year and a half contract. Where'd they shoot it? In New York, on 57th Street. Was it just a weird world of soaps?

Yeah, I loved it. You did? Yeah. Just like every day? Did you go? Yeah, almost every day. And the scripts turned out? It was hard.

Yeah, it was really hard. It made me laugh. Yeah, you're working with all the soap opera actresses and actors? Yeah, they could really turn it on. Just the waterworks, tears. That must have been a real lesson in the profession of acting. Yeah.

Like, just like drop of a dime. Oh, yeah. Crying. And not like, you know, face moving and just like tears, like, you know, Demi Moore tears. Like, wow. Yeah.

Like, it's a real instrument in style and tone that they can just like turn that on um some of the directors were could let me be a little more camp right now but that's a hell of an education just to see that because like on a practical level just in terms of a the job of acting yeah that's really the job yeah in some weird way but you got out i got out yeah i i wanted to uh i didn't want to be i was especially just so much more of a free spirit then you know than i than i am now and i couldn't uh i wanted to to work in independent film so uh i got a job at yeah days of confused when i was on the soap so i I went to Austin to do that.

And that was kind of like the heyday of the first wave of those, or maybe just the second wave of independent films, just post John Sayles and the few other people, then Linklater and those guys started doing it. Yeah, yeah. And that was a huge movie. Yeah. For young actors and actresses.

I know, it was amazing. And there were screen tests. Everybody was in that movie. The callback was like, you know, 35 people. I became friends with Adam Goldberg.

He's in that. Oh, I love him. He's great. He's great. He's very funny. How did you meet Adam? I had him on my show. I had him on the podcast

because we seemed to, people wanted us to know each other. And then I used him in an episode of my show this last season. And then like, I don't know, we of my show this last season and then like I don't know we hang out occasionally what is your show like it's a it's a half hour scripted comedy based on a guy who does a podcast in his garage and his wife is sort of where did you get

that idea from it's a stretch you know it's crazy idea and are you gonna have people like me come on and talk to you on the show they've done that happens they yeah I use people playing themselves in my show yeah I've used a lot of people but I'll use you if we do another season okay it's the third season and you can come that's amazing yeah and Adam I didn't know about this it's on IFC okay so like a lot of people are like IFC I got to check if I get that. Yeah. I know. It's on Netflix, the first two seasons.

It gets good in the middle of the second season. Great. Of course. So Adam's on the show. Who does he play? He plays a professor at a college, an old friend of mine who's now a professor at a college. And I go visit him, and he's kind of sexually obsessed with a student. He does or you do?

He does. And he's in a bit of trouble. Uh-oh. Yeah. How old is this student? 20. It's a graduate student. We made it relatively acceptable.

He's 22. Oh, speaking of that, I just watched a trailer of the new Woody Allen movie. That seems to be, I got nervous. I'm like, oh, is this like my show? Is this going to be the similar thing? Is this going to step on my idea? Not at all. But you're with Joaquin Phoenix and the pretty girl.

Yeah, Emma Stone. Yeah, it was a really. That's your first Woody Allen movie? Yes. I met him 20 years ago for uh bullets over broadway i happened i was asked to be in the jury at the crack out film festival in poland that's a tough gig to get good for you thank you i was really really felt really blessed to be there yeah um so they've been asking me to you know come be on the jury for years and finally i said yes and uh you know you just watch a bunch of movies and i took a girlfriend and uh

juliet taylor woody allen's casting director was on the jury with me so we got a little closer i guess or she got a real sense of who who i was and um after all that was over i was uh i was in such a suffering place in that last year um so anyway uh i got back on a monday i met woody on a thursday and then i got cast on on i got material on Friday. Wow. And so it happened very quickly. You were in a suffering place last year? Yeah, yeah.

I was not good last year. Why? Just to, you know, how things can accumulate. I'd say Philip Seymour Hoffman's death. Right. Robin Williams' death. Yeah um the state of the culture not uh worrying about if if i have a place if i fit in um life crisis yeah really scared um just that did you know Robin? No. But you knew Phillip?

Yeah, but it was this... I know what you're talking about. What's the point? What's the point? But also, I felt that if they were creatively satisfied and doing more meaningful material, maybe they could have held on to that yeah you know because I I get so depressed at the kind of the lack of right humanity and material and humor and things that I like to do so

just feeling a little out of style or out of place in in the culture um but that's just part of it that's what's called longevity of course i'm going to feel that you know part of aging and aging yeah yeah because i find that i i feel that way too sometimes it's not so much being whether i'm part of it or not but sort of like what's the point and how do you maintain the excitement? Well, I'm excited now. Yeah, you seem good now. Yeah, I'm good now. Went through a dark tunnel though, huh?

Yeah, I did. How'd you handle that? I mean, did you just wait it out? Did you sleep all day? You know what happened is I did a play, of course. I have a great one. I did a play at Yale and they moved it to broadway without me because i wasn't a big enough name and that's what started it yeah that was just one of the things

and and so to that so that kind of rips open the insecurity and like who am i what and then like other things happen and then you see it all through that lens yeah and then you just it starts to crush you yeah yeah right and you get scared you know um and then you just starts to crush you. Yeah, yeah. Right. And you get scared. Right. And then you think, oh, maybe I don't know how to do it anymore. Maybe I'm not good anymore. I've lost it or something.

Acting or just... Yeah, which is stupid, but I always feel like that when I work. Right. What was the play? The Realistic Joneses huh who was the big name they got?

Tracy Letts was in it do you know Tracy Letts? the playwright? yeah and Michael C. Hall and Marissa Tomei

replaced my part and Tony Collette replaced Johanna Day's part is it still running? no did it not take off? no it didn't it didn't um big cast it was a big cast but i think it was a small play and i i don't i don't even think it

worked on it on a big stage so that so that got me a little nervous um so this career nervous and then that then that gets attached to age fear and talent fear. Yeah. What do I got to do? Sensitivity. Because you work a lot over the years. Over the years, I have. Yeah. Over the years.

But now, I'm going to work on my own material. Yeah. Okay. So, Woody Cassian, two days. Yeah, that's right. Now, what was the audition like? You kind of go in shaking his hand with one hand yeah and the other your foot is out the door oh really so it's impersonal you know you're just like actor meat yeah juliet

brought you here because there's a part in the film that um i'm shooting in rhode island impersonal or was it candid? I'm like, I know. I heard all about it. It sounds amazing. You're all jacked up. Oh my God, Joaquin Phoenix. He's incredible. Yeah.

Yeah, it sounds great. So I talked about Poland and maybe like four or five minutes. We just talked a little bit and I ran out and that was it. And you got the call? Yeah, I got the call. And you were like, everything's good again. You know what it did? It made me,

I got the call in the dog run and I just, I burst into tears. I was like, I feel like such a gambler. Really? My life feels like, yeah, I'm gambling. That's the feeling? I have no, like, these jobs come out of nowhere, you know?

But what's the alternative? I mean, this is the way to- I can't do anything else, yeah. I'm stuck. No, you're not stuck, you're working. Yeah, I'm working. But it is kind of weird, though. I'm just like, this is a crazy way to live now that I'm 45 or whatever.

Yeah, yeah. And you're like, there's no plan B. Yeah, that's right. I do have ideas, though. I have ideas of leaving the business. All right, we'll talk about them. And I can maybe guide you. No, no, I'd like to. Maybe I can either tell you

like yay or nay or that's not a good idea, Parker Posey. I don't think that'll work. No, that seems crazy. You can keep that alive in your imagination if you want. I actually want to hear those

but I want to hear what it was like working with Joaquin. I hear he smokes a lot. Cigarettes, yeah. He does smoke. I talked to Paul Thomas Andersonomas anderson yeah both of them because paul doesn't smoke much like but he said that like when you're around joaquin you're like

you're gonna smoke yep you're gonna smoke a pack a day um oh i just i just love his acting you do so uh he's so uh idiosyncratic and and sensitive you guys seem like you'd be good together you both seem very uh emotionally reactive and real but it was it was it light-hearted it didn't seem like that heavy uh um i can't yeah i can't talk about the movie I'm not allowed there's like some one line thing that yeah well can you talk about acting with him how was it did you guys get along

of course yes so we're both really nervous about being in a Woody Allen movie sweating all the time I'd just broken my wrist we met at the screen test about being in a Woody Allen movie. We're sweating all the time. I'd just broken my wrist. We met at the screen test. In going into it, was there any sort of aversion about the media accusations

and the accusations from his kid and all that stuff? No. No one thinks about that? No. Separate thing. Separate thing. And you know,

he's been doing a movie a year. Forever. For 40 years. I know, it's crazy. Some of them are good, some, he's been doing a movie a year. Forever. For 40 years. I know, it's crazy. Some of them are good, some of them are not so good. Right. Happens. Yeah, life.

He has a biographer on set that's been following him too. For 40 years? Yeah, named Eric Lacks. For 40 years. Oh, Lacks already wrote a book on him. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, he's back?

Yeah, he was there, yeah. He's writing the second part two? Mm-hmm. No shit. Mm-hmm. So, Joaqu back? Yeah, he was there, yeah. He's writing the second part two? Mm-hmm. No shit? Mm-hmm. So, Joaquin. Joaquin was great. You guys got along right away?

Yeah, we got along right away. I felt, he felt like a brother to me. He wasn't too far from me, you know? Yeah, yeah. So, I felt very familial. And, you know, there's something about him, too too you want to take care of him oh yeah yeah i can feel that yeah i don't think i can't i don't think i could step in and say are you okay do you need some food are you eating all right joey's a vegetarian is he yeah he's vegetarian

and he convinced his his parents to become vegetarians when he was like a kid. Oh, yeah? Yeah. Stop eating meat. I've never met him. I saw him sleeping on a plane once. I didn't bother him. It's not right. No. Wake up. Hey, buddy. Hey. I'm a big fan. I do podcasts sometimes. Don't go back to sleep. I'm not in first class a lot. I just got excited. I'm behind you.

You pass him a note. SkyMall mag. Yeah, so I felt, you know, you only do like two or three or four takes usually. What's his directing? Does he just expect you to do it? Be there immediately, yeah. Right. That's what I heard.

So that can be kind of intense. And then he also does this where he says, you know what I wrote isn't very good. If you want to add anything, feel free. Oh, really? And you're like, okay, sure. I'm feeling great. You're like, blah, blah, blah.

And then you hear, that's terrible. Oh, really? That's what I heard, yeah. I was like, oh, my God. Sweat marks marks i'm dying i'm like it's all good i'll never act again this is my last movie so so so you did a little improvising and he was like no no terrible you're like ah um so that was funny and then i like just like screaming and laughing um you know he's so sardonic. He has such a wit.

Yeah. It took a while to get it right or what? How did you know you were doing well? You can feel it. You can just feel it. You can feel it around you when you've hit the right tone. And here's the other interesting thing. I was only given 20 pages of,

of the script. So I only have my part. Oh really? 115 page. Interesting. That's the way he does it. Is that the way everybody gets it? So that's kind of bizarre.

Yeah. I didn't know what kind of movie I was in. Uh, all the way through. Yeah. I mean, I got, you know,

on the last day I started reading the mean I got you know on the last day I started reading the script and you know so I left the script and I was like I'm gonna like look oh really

you're not even supposed to look that's an understanding you're like don't look at the story that you're part of telling but no

it was exciting and you know he's the real deal there know He's the real deal There's He's the real deal Woody Allen There's only a few directors

That have a career In this country Of an auteur So you know That you're You trust that process Right Completely

You're not gonna Right There's nothing Excuse me Mr. Allen I don't know Maybe I'll try this What do you think

You know None of that like none of that. Yeah. None of that. I mean, if you did, like there would be, people would just be so. Yeah. It'd be like this weird tension on the set. Yeah. Like don't.

The room clears and it's just you and Woody. Don't ever. She turns into Satan. What are you doing? But he's, it was fun. It was really fun. Well, what other directors have you worked with

that had that kind of impact where you knew you were dealing with a visionary? You worked with Hal Hartley, didn't you? How many movies did you do with him? Did you do two or one? I did like three, I think.

Three of all those? The whole trilogy? Isn't he doing another one? He just did another one. Were you in it? Briefly. Yeah, he raised his money on Kickstarter. It was the third installment.

It was Henry Fool, and then I was in Faye Grimm, and the last one is Simon Grimm, my son. I have a few scenes in that. We shot them all in one day. Oh, really? 18 pages of dialogue in one day. That's a lot. See, this is a thing about independent

movies now you know it's i know i do a tv show like that where i do you know 9 to 15 pages wow you know it's crazy it's not a lot of time because and it's a budget thing so it's certainly not going to help you make more money no but you get to be in the movie but christopher guest is like that too i mean he's a real oh yeah yeah um visionary i love working with great directors who else is in your mind um rick linklater really stands yeah oh dazen confused that must have been so fun yeah what a crazy time that was i talked to him he's got a real ease you know he's a sweet guy you know he's like you know he's he's like really level yeah yeah he's he's solid man guy. He's really level. He's solid, man. But okay, let's talk about

as we come in for landing here. We're landing now. Almost. I'll talk more. I'll spend the day with you. I don't give a fuck. I'll move in. Where are we going?

I'm ready for a change. It's hard to walk around with mics. People always look at you. Just two people Walking around with mics But we can go outside Have you ever tried that I have I did it

Walking with Yeah That's a good idea With It's a little weird Yeah It's a little hard to manage Yeah

But I did it with A comic in San Antonio I think We went outdoors I did a car interview With Maria Bamford Wow You've interviewed everyone And now Terry Gross Do with Maria Bamford. Wow, you've interviewed everyone. And now Terry Gross. Do you know Bamford?

No. You should check her shit out. You would love her. What's her name again? Maria Bamford. Okay. Is she a comedian? Yes, but she's a genius. Is she a storyteller? You don't even understand what's happening. Oh, that's great.

You'll be like, what's happening? Even better. Oh, you've got to watch it. All right, so what are these other business ideas? I don't want to talk about business. No, no, I want to know what the big idea is. No, it's too much. I'd rather keep it in the bottle now.

I was excited to slam some of your life goals. It's kind of complex and has various parts to it. Big point. Empire building? Yeah. Oh, yeah? Does it deal with a scent or lotions? Oh, it could.

Maybe. Like your own line of things? Turmeric-based? Turmeric? Turmeric. Yeah, I won't go into it because you know what? It's like turmeric-based. Turmeric. Turmeric. Turmeric. Turmeric. Yeah. Yeah, I won't go into it because you know what? What?

You don't want me to ruin it? You're really hanging on to this thing? It's like you're protecting it so it doesn't get dirty with other people's opinions of it? That's right. That's right. The dream? You're protecting your dream of your way out of show business. Is that what you're doing?

Well, it's not it's it's like new it's it's new i'm i'm interested in like a new there's a new form oh yeah i think okay um how people like this podcast what you're doing yeah storytelling storytelling yeah so uh i miss a lot of things in about acting that I don't see a lot anymore. Right. Ease. Ease. Slowness. Wit.

Yeah. How about risks? Yeah. Mm-hmm. And nuance. Are you about to yawn? No, I just burped. You're stifling the yawn.

No, I burped. Stifled the burp. I miss y yawning don't you want to just watch people yawn i do i sometimes i watch people yawn i'm like that's like why are they yawning like sometimes there's some yawns i have theories about it okay like i think some yawns when you see when you're talking to somebody and they do that that yawn where where it doesn't look like a tired yawn but it's some other thing they're gasping for air you're draining them yeah where they're this yawn where they're like that one that's a bad yawn because it's not tired it's sort of like they're trying to get out and yeah it's hostage yawn i gotta get out of here i don't know what's happening. Yeah, that's a bad yarn. I have to go to the bathroom. Well, we should stop.

Let's stop. Can we say goodbye now? Okay, bye. Bye. Lovely chat with Parker Posey and her dog, Gracie. Present. Present. All right, so you got all the tour dates.

Go to WTFpod.com and get some coffee. Get on the mailing list. I'll send you an email. You know, enjoy some merch. There'll be more merch coming, more posters. And now I'm going to take a shame nap. Okay. New York City. Boomer lives! We can wait for clean water solutions.

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