WTF with Marc Maron Podcast - Episode 932 - Ray Liotta / Jim Jefferies

Episode Date: July 11, 2018

Ray Liotta had no intention of getting into acting but his fearless disposition led him to performing in school musicals, and the rest was history. Ray tells Marc about why being on a soap opera was great training, why he owes his movie career to Melanie Griffith, and why the filming of Goodfellas was emotionally tumultuous for him. Also, comedian Jim Jefferies stops by to talk about parenting, his new Netflix special, and Crocodile Dundee. 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.

LOCK THE GATE! Alright, let's do this. How are you, what the fuckers? What the fuck buddies? What the fucking ears? What the fuck sticks? What the fuckadelics? What's happening? I'm Mark Maron. This is my podcast, WTF. Welcome to it.

The sun burned my trees. The sun burned my trees. What the fuck is happening? I asked the gardener guy, I'm like, what's up with the trees? He said, I'm pretty sure it was the sun just burned them. Oh, is that all? The sun burned the trees. sun just burned them oh is that all the sun burned the trees is this unusual it's 118 degree heat in los angeles unusual yes and then when you realize oh it burned the trees it burned a lot of trees it just burned the landscape just fried it so if you're thinking about doing exercise and working out and stuff make sure adapting to uh to the life of a lizard or a snake operating in that type of intensity is part of your plan if you can get your body temperature down to about cold bloodedness, and you can sort of exist under rocks where it's still hot,

because once we blow out the power grid and the trees burn, it's going to be, you know, I'm just saying, look, I'm not being negative. I'm just saying integrate that into your workout, you know, preparing for that. You know, if you're doing the running, you know, do it in 110 degree heat. You know, deny yourself water and don't cool down. Can the distractions available obliterate our awareness totally of what is happening? The trees are burning, not from fire. It's from a hot day.

Will the distractions available, will the Marvel movies and the options and the streaming services, will it succeed in obliterating our ability to connect with reality, completely enabling our denial of said reality? I don't know, but I'm just rethinking the last paragraph

of George Orwell's 1984. And he gazed up at the enormous face. 40 years it had taken him to learn what kind of smile was hidden beneath the dark mustache. Oh, cruel, needless misunderstanding. Oh, stubborn, self-willed exile from the loving breast two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose but it was all right everything was all right the struggle was finished he had won the victory over

himself he loved big brother i think what might be more frightening and what really might be the next turn of the screw of of how consumer culture works is that the last line but it was all right everything was all right the struggle was finished he had won the victory over himself he didn't give a fuck didn't give a fuck i'm tired i'm through the worst of it you know i don't give a fuck i'm gonna sit on my porch and watch the trees melt And watch the trees melt. Ray Liotta is on the show today. Who doesn't fucking love Ray Liotta?

You have to. You have to just recognize it. Goodfellas is the most watchable movie almost ever. I'll start watching Goodfellas wherever it's on even if it's if the cussing is cut out but Ray Liotta is here and it was wild to sit across from Ray Liotta also here today Jim Jeffries for a minute

but on the other side of burning trees and fucking it all and losing hope or hoping for not the best, but just a little bit of a relief from something. I went to see an amazing chunk of art. Sarah, the painter is doing a,

a public art commission for the city of San Francisco for their new airport terminal. And she has designed a it's going to be about 150 feet long 10 foot high by six foot panels of stained glass in uh in her style of abstraction and i went and saw about five or six of the panels as they move together, as they are created over at Judson Studio, which is this century-old plus stained glass studio, and just the meeting of the creativity and abstract intent of Sarah Kane with this you know kind of a old-timey medium pretty fucking stunning she gave a little talk had some people over shared the process but

it's going to be just massive colors to see stained glass taken out of the hands of Jesus you don't see it too often you see see it as decorative on, you know, in houses and whatnot. But this thing is massive. And just, you know, this place, it's making the glass that she's designing. You know, did Frank Lloyd Wright houses. They do big churches. It's just a medium. You may not pay attention to it.

It may have a sort of place in your mind, but it's probably not an exciting place. But man, it was just exciting to see some new kind of understanding of something so familiar and so mind-blowing. Art is good for you. Pull yourself out of your phone. Get yourself out of the clickbait get into some stuff that's moving into the imagination out pushing the envelope with creativity i don't know if it's going to save us i don't know if art is going to save us but it can certainly remind us that we're fucking human human right so jim jeffries has been here before he's a filthy man you know jim he does have a new special coming out on netflix uh this is me now it's called it premieres tomorrow july 13th so we dropped by and we talked a bit about uh who he is now jim jeffries how many like how many kids you got now i've only got the

one kid but i i have like a live-in nanny when i've got him and stuff like that you know so i've got that's that's that's two people so she's got the kid but you got no uh the wife's gone the wife's got but she lives she only lives half well I was never married but she only lives half a mile down the road yeah we have a very good relationship so we I see her

once a week probably oh yeah yeah yeah it's all good yeah we were very clever and what we did was we

we got she got pregnant after knowing her for two months yeah and so you knew her for two months knew her for two months

I think I kind of remember this yeah but one of the good things Is people A lot of people Get people pregnant That they love Yeah

And that's a silly thing Because that'll Turn to hate eventually So if you just Get someone pregnant Who you kind of like And maybe Know a little bit

Yeah You can get to know them And then you'll always Kind of like them Yeah It may never turn to love But it probably won't turn to hate. That's right.

So then, like, you know, you have a kid, so that gives you an excuse to sort of get to know them as they grow as people. So how long did the thing last anyway? We muscled out four years. Oh, yeah? Yeah, and now it's like,

he's heading on to six now, so. But no, we muscled, maybe we did five years including before he was born like but we've been bringing up for a bit over a year how's the kid turning out

he's doing good yeah happy little fella yeah yeah yeah yeah he's like the problem is it's like

it's nothing to do with me he's just very well behaved yeah and so I've always wanted I don't know if it wants a thing but I've always I thought that I would be a very strict parent yeah really behaved yeah and so i i've always wanted i don't know if it wants a thing but i've always uh i

thought that i would be a very strict parent yeah really i thought disciplinary i was disciplined very hard as a kid yeah but then it seems like your entire uh life has been pushing back against that yes i know i know yeah yeah but all i've got is the naughty step that's all i do that's all like like if he is a naughty step yeah it's the naughty step that's a big thing and they have to sit there for one minute of each year of their life so he's up to five minutes naughty step time now what is that some kind of Australian disciplinary thing no that's no you watch any like super nanny type program any parent knows about the naughty step I will explain it to me because I I avoided the parenting okay what happens

with a naughty step is the child has to sit on a step like somewhere in the house and just sort of ponder what they've done. Yeah. For, you know, if it's one year, they have to sit there for one minute, two years. And so my son's up to five minutes worth of naughty step. I don't know if he knows

that if he just decides to stand up and walk away, I really don't have anything else to do. I have nothing else in my artillery to go in there. You sit there on that step and you have a think about it. But it's like, yeah, it does work for some reason. So if he says, fuck you, Dad, I'm out, that's your, okay. Wow, wow. You have a good time.

Get back on your step. All right, I'll remember this. Next time you're getting a double amount of step. But he's like, what is he, six, right? He's five. Five. So, I mean, you know, this is relatively easy. If he's been easy up to this point, I guess, you know, when they're really, you know, two

or three, it's a pain in the ass. It can be. I thought, yeah, I heard about the terrible twos and stuff. I miss him being two. Yeah. I like that. It was, it was the, it was, you didn't really have to worry about them at that age. Right. I'm starting to, even now, really have to worry about them at that age.

I'm starting to, even now, I start to worry about things like, are you worried, like, are they going to, like, you're going to be boiling some hot water and they're going to pour it over their head? Do you have a pool? I have a pool, yeah. But now we can swim, so that's cool. But you never had to worry. Now I worry about my child socially.

Yeah. Like, when he's starting school and I go, oh, geez, I hope he has friends. Right. And how's that turning out? Well, he's just about to start school. He had preschool and he had his group of mates. And now he has to go off and get his new group of friends. But how was he in preschool?

A leader? He was all right. I don't know if he was a leader. You watch these plays that they put on at the preschools. And it's like, wasn't Michael Jackson discovered at five? I don't know. he was a leader. You watch these plays that they put on at the preschools. And it's like, wasn't Michael Jackson discovered at five? I don't know, maybe. It was around. It was a family thing, yeah.

Yeah, the whole family. And I look at the concerts they put on, and I'm like, none of these kids. None of them. We're not going to do it. But then is it that we're just not hitting our kids? Is Michael Jackson a product of child beating? Is that where the motivation comes in to be elite? Maybe, but then there's a question, of course, of like, do we need another Michael Jackson?

I mean, because it's got to be incredibly hard on the kid at some point. Yeah, of course it has. Did your dad hit you? My mother did. My dad didn't. Yeah. My dad probably hit me two or three times, but nothing too serious. Like this little smack here, a little smack there.

But my mother really wailed on us. Oh, really? Yeah, yeah. Like out of control shit? Like it wasn't about discipline. It was just about she had enough? Broke one of me brother's legs. What?

Yeah. One time I went to a hospital with like a split in the side of my head from a belt that hit me. Oh, she went to town. Big woman. Big, like, she had a real good swing on her. Yeah. She used to do that thing, if you've answered back, where she'd do the open-hand slap.

Oh, yeah. But do you remember when parents used to hit their kids, like, just in Ralphs? Yeah, well, yeah, of course. And now it doesn't really happen so much in public. Yeah, well, there's thankfully a bit of shame involved. There's a bit of shaming, yeah. I remember I used to get popped. My dad used to pop me with like these two fingers,

like just like, it was almost more. On the forehead? Yeah, just on the face or like in the head. Yeah, like it was almost more humiliating than it hit. Just sort of this way, bing, it stung. It didn't bloody me, but it was just sort of like, you know, it was just kind of annoying and fucked up. Yeah, my son would go into his bedroom for,

I'll just lose him in the house. I'll be watching TV, I'll wander off, I'll assume he's off doing something with Lego or something. And then I'll think, I haven't seen him for about an hour. And I'll wander around, I'll find him, and he'll be like in a cupboard just in a ball and then i go what's wrong with you he goes you hurt my feelings oh and then i'm like how did i hit your feelings you said that i was and i don't even remember saying he sure i thought i was joking

around with him very sensitive little kid oh well yeah they were kids yeah i was tough i reckon well when your mom's like smacking you with a belt, I guess you get a little resilient, don't you? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Is your mom still around? She's still around. With the beatings, both me and my brothers have confronted her, but she's a little, she's like,

oh, I don't remember if all of those things happened. Some of them sound a little familiar. Yeah. So does the kid have any talent that you can see at five it's a weird thing it's a weird thing like i went i took him to um uh it's the most embarrassed i've been as a parent as like a person i took him to harry potter world yeah and he said he wanted one of the wands and then they you know they choose you out of wand you know there's a special thing where they go this is the one that you're going to get, you know what I mean? Yeah. And so he stood there, and then the girl who was working there,

she goes to me, what interest does he have? Oh, I didn't, I don't know. Toys? Pulling his dick a little bit? Like, just stretching it? Not like masturbating, but stretching his dick? Yeah. And toys?

And that's it? He likes practical practical jokes you know what i mean like like what interest he's five yeah what interest does he have did did he get i don't even know my interests yeah and right now yeah yeah did he get the dick wand what did he get the pulling the dick one he got like i can't remember what it was it was like i think it wasn't a good one i think it was like uh like a slither and he went i don't know really the harry potter movie remember what it was. It was like, I think it wasn't a good one. I think it was like a Slytherin-y one. I don't know really the Harry Potter movies. I think it was in the... Yeah.

People like them. So what... Yeah, they do. They fucking like them. They like the books too. I never read them. Yeah, I'm thinking of reading the books. For him?

Well, I've just recently become a person who can read. It's just become... Like, I'm looking at your place here with all these books. Yeah. And I'm like, you obviously read. Well, some of them are aspirations. They're not can read. It's just been a comment. Like, I'm looking at your place here with all these books. Yeah. And I'm like, you obviously read. Well, some of them are aspirations. They're not all read.

They're not, I haven't read all of them. Well, I always, I had dyslexia as a kid. And so then I just didn't read. Dyslexia? Yeah, I was just dyslexic. And so I just found reading hard

as a teenager. So I never read for pleasure. And I have found reading hard as a teenager so I never read for pleasure and I have read I think like two or three biographies and that's all I've read in my whole life

right and one of them was like Chevy Chase's biography time well spent yeah out of the three books you read

one of them was Chevy Chase's biography not even his autobiography just a biography I read the I read the Chris Farley story sure

it's just quite yeah it's exciting at the end and so I can't remember what the other thing was Just a biography? I read the Chris Farley story. Sure. It's just quite a fun little read. Yeah, it's exciting at the end. And so I can't remember what the other thing was. It was something to do with the Beatles or something. Yeah, and now you're picking it up again? Anyway, no, but since I started doing the TV show and I had to start reading the autocue, I'm getting good at reading.

Just reading in general. And so I'm starting to enjoy reading. Oh, that's interesting. And so I'm starting to enjoy reading. That's interesting. I'm starting to think about, I might buy a book. You haven't done it yet? You're close? Well, I started reading books to my son. And this is why I started thinking about the Harry Potter thing.

I'm thinking of just reading a chapter of Harry Potter to him each night to see if that's something he might dig. Right. And it'll help you. And it'll help me. So you're saying by reading Teleprompter, you... I've gotten good at it. if that's something he might dig. Right, and it'll help you. It'll help me. So you're saying by reading teleprompter, you... I've gotten good at it. I can read teleprompter.

What do you think happened to the dyslexia? Well, I still have it, but it's a muscle that I... I still find it. I'm not there loving it, doing it, but it's like anything. If you work at it a bit more, you get a bit better at it. It's like I could play golf every day and I'll never be awesome at it. Right.

I'll get better. But you seem natural on camera. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's no problem. I try to vaguely know the whole script all the way through so that even if I go off script or whatever, I sort of know where the joke is headed at the beginning. Well, how much research are you actually doing in terms of staying up to speed on shit?

What do you do, the show weekly? Yeah, we do the show weekly. I just came from there now. We have eight writers and two researchers. And it's like sometimes I'll go in on a Wednesday, sort of this is our Monday because the show's recorded on Tuesday, and I'll go on Wednesday.

So this week, I'd like to talk about these two topics. There might be a couple of things that I'm passionate about. And then other times, it's just like, we're going to talk about Scott Pruitt leaving the EPA with a blah, blah, you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. And it's like, I'm not, I watch a bit of news, but I mean, I have to have people explain it to me. Sure.

No, no. I was in that situation for a couple of years when I was a radio host at Air America. You know, like you just, you know, it's hard to know all the nuances, but like once you get it all in your head, how it fucking works, it just becomes, you just fill in the people. I spoke to Paul Hogan today. You did? That's just why we, yeah, I spoke to Paul Hogan today. How's he doing?

Well, I did it, I spoke to him on a conference call at work. Is he a hero of yours? He kind of is, yeah. Yeah, like what other Australian comic giant did I have to look up to? What was that guy Einstein? What was it, remember him? Oh, Yahoo Serious. Yahoo Serious, yeah.

I was thinking about Yahoo Serious the other day. It's funny you should mention it. What happened? So what happened with Paul Hogan? We had a sketch where I wanted him to play my father in a sketch. And I don't think he liked the sketch. And he might do a different thing with this. And he goes, he said to us, he goes,

I don't know if people will really believe that I'm your father. Yeah. And I'm like, it's a sketch. Yeah yeah do you think people believe you were crocodile then yeah exactly it's acting yeah but it was very exciting to talk to him I got I did get a little starstruck talking to Paul I bet yeah me that was he a star in Australia before he was the yeah before those movies he was star yeah but what did he do in movies or It's a fascinating thing. That was his first movie.

Crocodile and he was his first movie. What happened was he was a rigger on the Harbour Bridge. So the Harbour Bridge has to be painted constantly. Once you reach the end, you've got to start again. Yeah. And I think there was only four blokes who constantly was painting the Sydney Harbour Bridge. And he was in his 30s at this stage. And there was a show, New Faces, or the Gong Show,

or whatever the fuck it was. And his mates kept on egging him on because he kept on saying he could do better than the people there. He did somewhat what you would call a stand-up sort of performance. That went well. And then they, I think he came second or something, but they brought him back for another thing. And then the phone lines lit up.

Yeah. And then the Australian, I don't know if they do this, but this is a very Australian thing. You have, you know, like we don't really have the 24 hour news channels

or we didn't back in the day. In Australia, yeah. Yeah. And so we just have news is from six, six till seven. Yeah. You get the news, right?

Right. It was better time, it was better back then. It's better. Yeah. It's all you need. Yeah. Now they just have the six

or seven news played every hour over and over again. And on your phone. Yeah, yeah and on your phone yeah so you can't get away from it so so but on fridays in the last four minutes every friday you know they would have a sort of cheesy comedian do a rap of the week yeah yeah you know right where we go those idiots in parliament what are they up to yeah you know you're one one of those ones. Kind of like your show. Yeah, kind of like my show, but shorter and more succinct. Right? Yeah.

And so Paul Hogan became that guy. He would be like, oh, this happened, you know, the news, oh, the politicians are idiots. Was he doing a character, though? Did he have the hat? No, no, he just played himself, Hoag's. Yeah, Hoag's. They all called him Hoag's.

Then they give him the Paul Hogan show and that's the top show and it was just like a sketch show every week like the Benny Hill show or whatever and then he starts like

advertising cigarettes yeah right like and then cigarette sales in Australia go through the roof and anything

they put his face on he's the biggest marketer and then what he did was he wrote Crocodile Dundee. It was fascinating because that whole throw another shrimp on the barbie thing with Australia, that all comes from a commercial from an Australian tourism ad where that Paul Hogan was like, if you're going to come to Australia, you're going to get wet because it's an island. And then some hot girl walks by and goes, g'day, Huggs.

He goes, hello. He goes, hey, make sure you come over here. We'll throw another shrimp on the barbie. Now, those adverts were played before every movie going. He did it for free because he knew his other movie was coming out. And then that would be sort of the trailer to the Crocodile Dundee. Everyone knew him from that advert. He went, oh, yeah, that's the guy from the advert.

So he really had a business going. Yeah, he owns the first two movies top to bottom. Oh, wow. So how old is he? He's got to be like, what? I think he's late 70s now. Yeah?

Still smoking? I feel like he's smoking. I don't know if he's still smoking. They did the tourism commercial for the Super Bowl with Danny McBride where it was Crocodile Dundee's son. Oh, yeah.

And all the Australian actors do that. They have him at the end in the outfit. Oh, they do? Yeah, yeah. Well, I'm glad you got to talk to one of your heroes. I got to speak to Higgs today. How often do you go back? I go back once or twice a year.

That's it? Yeah. I went back in January for just to take my kid back from my parents. And then I'm touring Australia in December, just five shows. Yeah. And what are you selling out, big? Yeah, Australia was the last place for me to sell tickets,

but I do like the Rod Laver Tennis Arena, like where they hold the Australian Open. What's that, like 15,000? That's like 14 or something. 14,000? Yeah, yeah. That's huge. Yeah, yeah. That's huge. Yeah, yeah.

I could do big venues in Australia. Yeah, only recently, though. Up until about four or five years ago, I couldn't get arrested. And how you doing in the States? I do all right. Yeah? I do slightly better in Canada than I do in America. Why do you think?

My TV show does better in Canada as well, so I don't know if it's got something to do with that, but I don't know. So they run it on Comedy Central in Canada? Yeah, they have their own Comedy better in Canada as well, so I don't know if it's got something to do with that, but I don't know. So they run it on Comedy Central in Canada? Yeah, they have their own Comedy Central in Canada. Yeah, you know, it might be like, I think maybe the slight foreigners take on the States. Yeah, yeah. You know what I mean?

Because I don't, that would make sense to me. Yeah, I think that me teasing America is something more akin to what they... But then, you know, what's John Oliver and what's Samantha Bee's Canadian? Yeah, I don't know how they do. Trevor Noah is South African. It's like there's all just like foreign people saying, this is what you're doing wrong, America.

It's very weird. I think it's smart in a way, you know, because like there's that distance. They have a little bit of distance. American things that have just shoved down your throat as a child, these things weren't shoved down our throat as children, so we can have a little bit more, a stand back and look at it. Sure, and even just the nature of the presidency

and just the structure of the government and the idea of the states and like all of it. I mean, it's like it's so encultured in us because we live here and you come here and like if there's an issue about the Pledge of Allegiance, what are you talking about? Whatever it is, you have at least a little bit of. Yeah, things like I would never for a second get offended if someone kneeled at the Australian anthem. Right, right.

That kind of stuff. Wouldn't bother me. Right. You know, it's incomprehensible to a degree. Yeah. It's incomprehensible that Ireland just legalized abortion and we're on the verge of making it illegal.

Ireland. Yeah, yeah. Probably the most Catholic fucking country shy of Rome. Right up until the 1980s condoms were contraband

in Ireland. They didn't have Playboy until the 90s. Right. And now they do that and we're about to go backwards? Yeah, yeah. It's fucking baffling. So where'd you shoot the special?

Hammersmith Apollo in London. Oh, yeah? It was a good room? It's a great room. It's one of the classic sort of- Springsteen played there. The Beatles did 27 shows in a row in 1964. Wow.

How many is that seat, man? I want to say 4,000. Oh, really? Yeah. It's like, you know, it's just a big rock venue. Yeah. And it came out great? I think so.

I haven't watched it for a while since the beginning of the edit. I look a bit puffy in it because it was at the end of a one-month tour of Britain. So there was a few Guinnesses that have been through a little bloated yeah a little sweaty yeah normally normally very special i like i work out a little bit or eat well for a couple of weeks before this one uh isn't my best looking one so what number is this one um i think seven really yeah seven seven in 10 or 11 years oh that's good yeah it's i look i i'm thinking of slowing it down i've sort of been bringing one out every year or year and a half and i think now i might have a little rest for a couple of years i'm just really i always watch a

lot of television me yeah what have you been watching you know what i with tv yeah i i don't i get offended when people um say they don't like it. Or they say it's stupid. Oh, TV in general? Just a broad sort of like... No, no. Does anyone say that anymore? They call it the idiot box law.

Does that still happen? It does a little bit. And like people always... You know when you meet braggy people who are like, I don't even own a television. I know. I knew a girl like that. Yeah. And they're always telling you.

Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I didn't know that was still happening. With the. And they're always telling you. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I didn't know that was still happening. With the computer, it doesn't really hold as much as it used to. Yeah. Before the computer, it was quite impressive. No, yeah, right.

Oh, what do you do? I sit and read books. I do this. I always found it condescending. And I never even watched that much TV. When I was in New York, I didn't have a TV, but it wasn't because I was making a statement. It was a year or so ago. You just hadn't gone around to it.

Well, no. Yeah. I was out doing comedy every night. I just didn't fucking have a TV. I don't know why. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't remember having it. I've got seven.

If there's a room, I'll put a TV on there. What do you watch, sports? I watch a bit of sports. I watch Dodgers sort of every day. Yeah. I watch a lot of news. And a few dramas here and there. A lot of sitcoms and uh my only reality

show is rupaul's drag race that's a good show i love rupaul's he's a great guy he's one of the people that i've actually asked to interview on my show i keep on putting out an invitation to rupaul's drag race but hasn't been picked up yet he won't do it i don't know if he won't do it he might just be busy but the invitation's out there yeah yeah well maybe he'll maybe he'll come now who have you talked to that you really were impressed with lately uh i i got a little star star carol burnett was one that i really love to talk to her i haven't talked to her yet um carol burnett was cool did you do a long one or short one we we edited down to like seven minutes but i talked to her for about 50 oh yeah you know what i mean so yeah she was she was very interesting like i said so with the women's equal pay you know you were like a lead female of your own show in the 1960s or 70s yeah and and like did you feel that that you know you weren't uh

you know treated fairly or equally and she goes look, let's not really talk about this. She goes, I think I was the highest paid person on TV. You're talking to the right person. Yeah, it's really the wrong person to go to Carol Burnett, number one TV show, and then go,

do you feel like you were paid well? Yeah, I was actually. I did fine. All right, buddy. Well, good luck. The special's called, what is it? This Is Me Now. This Is Me luck. The special's called... This Is Me Now. This Is Me Now.

Yeah. And the show's Jim Jeffery Show. The Jim Jeffery Show, yeah. Good to see you, man. Thanks for having me. That was Jim Jeffery's. The This Is Me Now premieres tomorrow, July 13th. Enjoy the button-pushing monster that is Jim Jeffries.

So Ray Liotta, he's one of the most memorable actors ever. A lot for goodfellas, but he's in all kinds of cop land. I mean, he's done some great, he always plays the corrupt cop. But, you know, he is distinct distinct and he is who he is uniquely. And he has a series shades of blue with Jennifer Lopez. It's in its, uh, third and final season on NBC new episodes on Sunday nights at 10 PM.

You can catch up on past seasons on Hulu before this series finale, if you need to. And this is me talking to jersey's own ray leota i got in under the wire somehow after 25 years in the business it's horrible isn't it the business takes forever yeah it took me forever to get started it's it is a horrible business horrible it's a it's a great way It's a fun way to make a living But it's a horrible business I mean you gotta be crazy to do it

And then to expect it to work out Like you just You innately expect it to work out Based on nothing Well totally And when you go in cold Because it's just something That you want to try to do

I never wanted to do this ever And it just happened in college That I was I didn't even want to go to college. It came time to go to college. My dad said, go wherever you... I walked out of my SATs. It came time to go to college. I said, I don't want to go to college. He says, go wherever you want, take whatever you want. So I got into the University of Miami. This was 1973. So all you needed was a pulse to get in there. I get in there, I'm going to take

liberal arts because I had no idea what I wanted to do. Get to the front of the line, they say I had to take a math and a history. I said, well, forget that. I don't want to take math and history. I looked up, it was for the drama department. I took a step over. And as I was in line, there was this typical actor story. There was this pretty girl. She said, you're auditioning for the play tonight. I said yeah and then she berated me what do you mean that's all it's about it's all about doing the play blah blah blah so i go up there get my my classes and then i go and audition for the for the play yeah and uh it was for a musical and now i'm a jock from new jersey all i did was play soccer basketball and baseball that it. That's what my whole life was about.

And then you realize, well, I'm not fast enough, tall enough, or anything enough to play professionally. That's a tough hit, right? It's horrible. Well, yeah, until junior high school when you're really, you know, then when you're a senior in your high school, then you realize, well, it's never going to happen. It's good you realized it. So the first thing was auditioning for the play, and I got into the play, but it was a musical. So the first thing you had to do was tell a sad story. I told a sad story about a dog of mine that got hit by a car.

True story? True story. Yeah. And then you had to sing. Yeah. So I grew up 45 minutes outside of the city in a town called Union, New Jersey. Union. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah. I'm all Jersey. So what'd you sing? We saw Pippin. They took me to see Pippin. Yeah. And there was one song that I remembered Magic to do. Yeah.

So she went and got the sheet music. There was already a cast album. Yeah. So I'm singing to the cast album, and that's it. So I got to go the next day to do the audition, and I hand the music and stuff to the piano player, and then I take it from him. He says, what are you doing? I says, what do you mean, what am I doing?

I got to sing this. And then he was a real bitchy piano player, if you know what I mean. What am I doing? I got to sing this. And then, you know, he was a real bitchy piano player, if you know what I mean. Yeah. And I said, I don't have this memorized. He said, just do the best you can.

So I get up there. I start singing this song. And then all I remember is the refrain, we got magic to do. We got magic. And so I'm just going over. And then they say, you got to dance. Now, I don't know if you remember. Remember Freddy and the dreamers

there was a it was like a it was a youth group it was for younger kids in the 60s and 70s a little before me and there was a dance do the freddie and the freddie was just putting your hands and your arms up so i'm doing the freddie saying you got magic to do we got magic to do and and believe it or not i get into the play and the first thing I did was I was a dancing waiter in Cabaret. And the first year, all I did were musicals. That's insane. But how terrified were you? Wasn't there fear involved?

None. None? None. To sing and dance? No. And I was really, really fragile in high school. and not with sports, but I just was fearless. I didn't care. I didn't know any of the people.

I didn't care what they thought. Yeah. And in high school, you always care what people are saying. Oh, right. So you're on a whole new playing field. Yeah, there was nobody I knew. What could they say? So you grew up all in New Jersey.

Yeah. You were born there. Yeah. In Newark? That's nobody I knew. What could they say? So you grew up all in New Jersey. Yeah. You were born there. Yeah. In Newark? That's what I say. I'm adopted. So the adopted paper said, yeah, I'm pretty sure it said Newark. Yeah.

And then I saw something for some other town, but I'm not sure what happened there. Yeah. Oh, you did the research, though? Oh, you did the research, though? When I was ready to have a kid, my ex thought it would be best, since we don't know anything about what was my family history in terms of illnesses and things. So at that time- Did you just assume you were Italian? It turned out that I'm not. I'm like, there's a little bit of Italian.

But Leota is the father that adopted me, and he's my father. Right. But yeah, he was Italian, so I was Leota. Yeah. So then we found my birth mother, just because at that time, there was a time when on every Oprah show or any show, they wanted to locate people, locate family members, boyfriends, girlfriends, whatever. So there was a locator's name at the end of the show.

She called the locator up, said who I was, and said I was looking for my birth mother. Next day, he had her number. Really? Yeah. She gave me the number. So you were like in your... I was 44.

And you'd never investigated it before no but you knew you were no i know yeah i knew when i adopted i wore it on my sleeve forever that you were adopted yeah well just feeling that i was giving up all right so then when you're meeting a girl you know like within three minutes i would tell people that i was adopted and you know you know that was my that was my line thing and they would feel sorry for me or something but did you really feel like did you feel like you were totally oh yeah all the way through life and it's all that yeah given up because i i never could understand why why someone would give up a baby a chair but your parents were good right they were great oh yeah they were great i was i was the luckiest person alive to get the parents that I have.

And then you realize, though, once, so I went and met my birth mother. Where did she live? Well, she was at one of their family's houses, one of her daughter, her kid's houses. Yeah. It was on Route 22. In Jersey. In Plainfield. Yeah. houses yeah it was on route 22 in jersey and in plainfield yeah it was right off 22 there was there was this this this uh stone uh driveway yeah and this two family house woods and train track

yeah and and i'm there early i got there fast and i mean i got there early and and and and this this car comes careening around the corner sp spitting up the rocks and everything. And there was a dead deer on top of the car. It turned out that that person was my half brother. And it turned out that I have five half sisters, a half brother and a full sister. And I found all this out when I was 44 years old holy fuck so that's like that's gotta be it was crazy it was it was totally mind-blowing and and uh it like like in a movie so we're leaving right but it was pretty much like like it's typical jersey thing like

olive loaf pickles you know at the place but what about the dead deer what about that guy he just gets out of the car and you know and it turned out that that was my my uh half brother and his name was ray wow did but she raised these other kids yeah these were her kids did you see a resemblance right away no maybe just in the eye area we had similar eyes uh she raised all the other kids right but not you and the full the full sister and what happened you. And the full, the full sister. And what happened was she took me home from the hospital. I said, well, who was my father? She said, I don't remember.

What? All right. You don't remember this? I'm here for information, and I don't think it's going to be coming because she doesn't remember who the dad was. And then I got a call from my, I told this story once on Letterman, and I got a call from the spokesman for them, and she didn't like that I told this story at all. But it's true. The spokesperson for the family?

Well, yeah, she was the talkative one, the one they turned to. Some of them were shy. One of them was sick. One of them was sick. One of them was in jail. But this was the other siblings? Right, right, a half-sister. So she's the spokesperson. Right.

She's telling me all the stories, like, you don't know how lucky you are, because when mom threw a shoe, it could follow you around a wall, through a door. So she was an angry woman. She talked like this because she smoked, so she had this really smoky voice. Yeah, they were just telling me stories about her gambling and this, that, and the other thing. And when I left, the first thing I said is, thank God I'm adopted. Well, that, I went with my best friend since third grade, to this day, my best friend,

and we stopped at a, in New Jersey for some reason, they still call it SO instead of Exxon. Oh, yeah, the gas station? We started at the gas station, but as we're driving, all of a sudden this rain, just torrential rain came almost kind of like if it was in a movie and say things were like cleansed things were being cleansed which it happened and we're sitting there and that's what he said so so what do you think because we're all shell-shocked from this whole experience how many of the people showed up that first day

you go over to meet her the guy with the deer on his car comes but did they all come no no there were i think there were two sisters and then there were the the one of the sisters kids and her boyfriend and his boyfriend and her girlfriend and they know you from movies yeah so that must have been weird it was more about that as far as they were concerned and i just wanted to find out more like who am I? Like how did this happen? So you're at the ESO station. It's raining. It's raining.

It's pouring. And then my friend Gene says, so what did you think? And I said, I can't. I'm so happy that I was adopted. And he starts bawling. I mean crying because he had just adopted two kids, two different families. It just happened at once for him. And he was just so happy to hear that because he didn't know how his kids are going to react.

You don't know how the kid's going to react to you as a parent when you adopt a kid. You don't know what's going to happen. And nine times out of 10, people put kids up for adoption for the betterment of the kid. Right. But, you know, it took me a while to learn that. But by the time that I went and did this, I had pretty much stopped using it as the sob story and just realized this is what happened and that's all there is to it. My brother's got three adopted kids.

I have no idea what's going to happen. They're all from different families, and the oldest one's like 17 or 18. They all know they're adopted. He knows who the, but in his case, he knows who. Who the people, yeah. Yeah. I guess that's more, it happens more now. That's what happens, yeah, exactly.

Back then, I was adopted through Catholic charities. But what really messed me up was the fact that she took me home. My birth mother took me home for three months. Yeah. So I'm bonding, getting being fed by my birth mother. And then all of a sudden just like taken away and put in an orphanage. And I have to, I can't imagine it not affecting me somewhere deep down or or maybe not so deep down, that I was just taken away from my mother. The primal union, the bond.

Do you have kids? No. Oh. No, I never did it. I always wanted to do it because of that, to start a family tree. Not in an ego way, just to have my own blood. Right. But what did you find out about the father?

Nothing. Never did? Nothing. She claimed that she didn't remember who it was. And then the full sister called me. So she said, I think I know who our birth father is. She called the house. She explained the situation that Ruth, I don't even remember her last name, was our mother.

We think that your father had two kids out of wedlock. And the guy just didn't want to hear it. Just said, get out of here. Don't ever call here again you're crazy that never happened right the son of the father the father had passed away oh so so like that's what your mother was probably real mother was probably protecting the guy because he was married no no no no she was she was no she was used by the guy. He was the neighborhood kid. She was a mark.

He went with her. He goes off to the Korean War. He comes back, does it again, and then just disappears. And she's left with two kids. And then the rest come later. Then the rest come after because then the birth mother, my birth mother Ruth, she then had the crew of five and one. Right, right, right. So now that you got, so you have two kids?

No, one. One kid. And when did you have, how old were you when you had the kids? 44. Wow. And was it amazing? Yeah, yeah, yeah. For me it was.

I really, really, really wanted to have a kid. I love being a dad. It's just a shame that I did it so late and that I didn't find someone else after I got divorced to have another one, but I'm just grateful that I got one kid now because I love being a dad. That's great. That's great. That's great. Kid's okay?

Yeah. She's cool. Okay, so the parents you grew up with, your adoptive parents, what did they do? Do you have a sister or brother with that family? Yeah, I have a sister who was adopted. I remember my parents led me to believe that I picked her out, but I still have an image.

It's either that or it's from a picture of holding. Yeah. I was three years older, and we had just gotten her. And I think she was just weeks old when my parents got my sister Lynn and holding her and feeling so proud because they made me think that I picked out my sister, that I picked her out. Yeah. And it was, and then everything was just normal. And then we just fought like cats and dogs, like most brothers and sisters. And did she ever go find her birth parent?

No, she had no desire. Total opposite of me. She couldn't care less. Down the floor, couldn't care less. Ah. She's like, what's the point? Yeah. Didn't bother her, didn't affect her, just accepted it.

But it haunted you. Yeah, haunted's a little strong, but I was kind of, I couldn't understand how someone can give up a baby. I just couldn't wrap my head around that when I was younger. Yeah, and what was your old man's game again? What was his? My dad had a chain of automotive stores called rocket auto and it was like the pep boys yeah exactly like the pep boys but he kept he had five stores he

didn't expand on and on and on like the pep boys yeah and he had one in jersey city on garfield avenue and then one in bayonne on grand avenue right around from the hospital they're still there they're gone no they're gone i'm sure although i was i was filming cop land and i i took a walk we were on a break and it turns out that the house that we were filming at i walked to the to the to the back of the house and looked over and there was my dad's store it was still there and and it flipped me, because this is years and years since he let the store go. Yeah. 10, 15 years when he had it. Right.

Still the same name? No. Different name? No, yeah. It was an automotive store, but it wasn't his. Yeah. That's wild. Yeah.

All right. So the two of you are growing up, and your mom worked too? Yeah. First, she was a stay-at-home mom, and your mom worked too? Yeah. First, you know, first she was a stay-at-home mom, and then she was very involved in a PTA, and then she started, when we went into junior high school, she ran the store in Jersey City, and then my dad watched the store in Bayonne. So you grew up in car parts. Yeah.

I hate the smell of tires to this day. Yeah. Because you go in and that's what it smells like. But it's like those stores are so amazing because you usually have like one or two guys working just aisles of pieces of things in boxes. Right? And then you had to look it up. Like somebody would come in with a carburetor for a 68 Pontiac, and then you'd have to look

it up. And I hated it. I hated everything about it. You worked there, though? The best thing about it, yeah. On weekends, they made me work there. And little did I know that my dad was kind of hoping that I would take over his store. And there was just no way.

I thought I was gonna work construction or something for the rest of my life. Right. But then the drama thing started. And the only reason why it started is after we did the musical, there was an acting teacher. His name was Robert Buckets Lowry, and he was a guy's guy. He directed like a coach. He was on his haunches, and he he had these blue glasses and his hat was on backwards and he had this

gravelly kind of thing. You identify with that guy. Yeah, and he, you know, I wasn't somebody who was doing drama my whole life.

I didn't do it at all. But in high school, what did you do? You just played sports? You had no interest though? No interest in drama? None. We took,

me and my friend Gene, we took a, you're allowed an elective your senior year of high school. Yeah. And we took drama because we thought it would just be easy right and all we did was children's theater and things like that yeah uh but not ever wanting to yeah it was like whatever you know like two little silly things for the little kids and and that was it yeah and then my senior year of high school i got into a fight with the basketball coach. Yeah.

And I quit. And the drama teacher asked me if I wanted to audition for the play. Right. And I said, what do you mean audition for the play? You already had auditions and everything. And he said, no, don't worry about it. And I got the second lead of a Neil Simon play Sunday in New York. Uh-huh.

And I hated it. I hated everything about it the memorizing the lines the the even getting up there and doing it i and i'm sure i wasn't special in the least yeah but it was because of of that class that made me want to take drama and it's only because who knows what would have won i've taken science or anything. I don't know what I would have done. So you just were aimless. Exactly. I had the same thing.

I didn't want to go to college either, but my parents were like, just go. Just go somewhere. So this guy, so you get there, you do the musical. And what's the guy's name, Robert? Lowry. Buckets. Buckets Lowry. Now, he's the drama, he's the head of the department?

He was the acting coach. No, no, no. There was another guy who was the head of the department. But he was the acting coach. Buckets. And they called him Buckets because he played basketball, put it in the bucket. And he was a trumpet player. And like I said, he was a guy's guy.

And he wasn't used to a guy's guy as coming out of high school. Usually the people, you know, the kids who are are doing it they have a certain way about them uh when they come like a club they're like yeah yeah and they're just different yeah i know what you mean yeah the theater kids yeah yeah and you're not a theater kid no and you're you're a jock and you got an edge to you and chip on your shoulder probably yeah i guess it was the yeah sort of but he he and then the next year that's my sophomore i came back i said let me try it in another year the first year all i did were musicals oklahoma dames at sea uh and you're singing that's all i was doing singing and dancing yeah and i didn't know anything about anything with it but for some reason

i just kept it. It didn't dissuade me from doing it. I just... Well, did you enjoy it? Yeah, I must have. I stayed with it. But what I really liked was the acting class with Buckets. But you're singing and dancing. You must have...

I mean, you can't remember if you really liked it. I mean, maybe it's not your thing. There is kind of a joy, I guess, in doing it. All I can say is I didn't quit. I'm not sure that I love doing it, but I love doing the acting class, the scenes that you had in class because of Bucket. So you said, I'll do these if I can do that. Well, kind of, yeah. Right.

And then doing the plays where it was fun, You know, one, two, three, kick. Yeah. You feel like an idiot, but I didn't care. I really didn't give a shit. I like watching musicals. I get very moved by people moving and singing. Do you ever watch musicals? Yeah, yeah.

It's great. Totally. When I'm in New York, I always catch it. I saw Hamilton like three times. It's great. It's unbelievable. Yeah. All right, in New York, I always catch it. I saw Hamilton like three times. It's great. It's unbelievable. Yeah. All right, so now you're in the drama department.

Right. That's what you're studying, right? Yes, I decided to go back for a second year. And that year, I got all the leads of the plays that they had. Like what? Street Car Named Desire. There was a new play that came in. You played Kowalski?

Huh? You played Stanley? Yeah. We did West Side Story. I didn't play Tony. I played Riff. Taming of the Shrew. I was Petruchio.

So I was getting the leads in the plays. And I would get nice praises, like anything. When was the last time you did Shakespeare? What? When was the last time you did Shakespeare? Then.

That was it. Once was enough. Was it hard? Yeah, I was too dumb to know better. I just learned the lines, and that play in particular, you know, that's a boyfriend and girlfriend girlfriend or whatever they're going for each other and and it's just

they're back and forth making fun of each other and calling each other names you understood that yeah i can relate to that yeah so okay so you do all those plays and now you're you're loving it right yeah yeah yeah yeah and i just i stayed for the four years and then graduated and there was an auditioning class what was it like what was it that he learned from him though like you know i mean you're very compelled by this guy and you get and obviously he bonded with you too you know what was some of the stuff you learned from him that you still use today just the the commitment of playing pretend and just just see most acting is taught by you can't do it so we're going to show you how to do it right he was he was very stanislavski

heavy and and i had since found a teacher out here in la harry master george who to me was is the best ever and he really capsulized. It's just, you know, you're playing a kid's game. All you're doing is playing cowboys and Indians. That's it. And that's why I always get kind of like annoyed or when people think they're special because they act. They're playing pretend for a living.

That's it. Like, get off your high horse. It's ridiculous. Yeah, it's true. It's true. Yeah. I mean, like on some level you realize that a lot of guys a lot of people get into the acting gig because it's it's like if

you've got a knack for it it's you know it's it's a hell of a way to make a living that's a great way to make a living count your blessings every day totally it's just the business that sucks right so all right so you do all the plays you I graduate. And we had an auditioning class where we got eight by tens and a resume. And the resume, all you're doing is putting down the plays that you did. In Florida? Yeah, at the University of Miami. And we got our resume together. Yeah.

And I went to stay with this girl, Lenora, Lenora May, who was already a couple years into New York. And she was going to sign her contract at Fifi Osgard. And that was the name of the agent back there at that time. In New York? Yeah. And she went to sign the contract because she just got Jaws 2. And while I was with her the it was like we went up there like six seven o'clock the guy a guy an agent came up to me and said hey you want

to you want to do a commercial i said yeah sure and he sent me on this uh on this go-to and the guy said yeah fine you'll do and what i did was they took still pictures of me and this girl, and it was for love songs of the 50s. And it's like, you know, they have those K-Tel record things. Sure, sure, sure. And they scroll by you. That was the first thing I got. But within a month, I was screen testing out here,

because I had moved to New York, out here for Beatles Forever. It was a Robert Zemeckis movie, but I didn't get that. And then a few months after, so then I was bartending at the Schubert organization. For the theater chain? Right, exactly. Where, New York? Yeah, I was watching plays and, you know, working at the bar or coat check or whatever. Just like which theater, though?

Which one was it? I don't know. Different ones. Oh, really? My first one was I Love My Wife, but I don't remember which theater it was at. But you worked at many of them? Yeah, in a lot of them. Yeah.

How'd you get that gig? Everybody from college had an in there. Oh. So I guess we're always looking for people. So not so much actors, just somebody who could be there. But it was great because you could audition at the same time. And watch plays, right? And watch plays.

And then after that, within six months, I auditioned for a soap opera. And I just did it just because i just figure experience well i got it and i said oh no there's no way i'm gonna do a soap opera because then i'm in the 70s it's in the 70s while i'm at college and i'm first getting into this acting stuff and the plays back at the movies back then were just unbelievable right the uh scorsese was all they're all like you know yeah coppola all these guys are doing their thing and so that's so i said no i don't want to do a soap opera but my dad being a depression baby said look it's money it's money in your hand and and two you've never worked in front of a camera before mine's all learned right yeah it's

a perfect time to learn why are you living in the city or living with them? In the city. I live in the city with three other people that graduated that year. What part of the city? 92nd, West End, the Ruxton. Oh, yeah.

Where Charles Grodin used to live. Did he? Yeah, or probably still does. I don't know. When you were there, you used to see him? No, I never saw him, but I heard later on

that he's, or through the through the grapevine that he was a tenant in the building that's funny he's a funny guy yeah so you took the gig yeah and i did the soap for three and a half years no kidding and what was your guy what was your character my character was joey perrini the nicest guy in the world. It was a blue-collar guy. My mother, Rose, I took care of my mother, Rose, and I had a sister, Angie, and I proposed to my girlfriend, Eileen.

I gave her a St. Christopher's medal when she was in the hospital. She ends up dying in the hospital. I go to where I proposed to her. It was during the winter. I slip, I fall. I end up in the hospital. There's a where I proposed to her. It was during the winter. I slip. I fall. I end up in the hospital. There's a nurse taking care of me. I fall in love with the nurse who's taking care of me. And I eventually marry her. We're married for months. And I find out she's the richest woman in America. Well, she lied to me. So I got an annulment. That's what this character was. He

was like this nicest guy in the world and then later i said well wait a minute i love her so so and then i decided that i was time to move to new york yeah and the only reason why i stayed the half year is because there was a writer's strike but the only people that weren't affected was after uh and uh we we went off to skiing in switzerland who do you know me and the nurse. Yeah, in the show. In the show. So how many episodes is that?

Like, we on a bunch of them? Three and a half. I mean, three and a half years. It's like lots. Lots and lots. We were the first. This show was the first show to go an hour and a half. Yeah.

And it was right in the middle of big storylines for me. So I was learning 30 40 pages a night it's another world another world wow so so what so you learned how to memorize yeah you learn how to memorize yeah and you learn how to be on camera camera and what was great about it is the producer paul roush when he needed a part he would go to broadway houses and watch plays yeah and if there were if an actor was right he'd go backstage and say, look, if you want to make some money, come and do the soap opera. I'll get you out whatever time you want to be out by so you can get prepared for your performance that night. Yeah.

And these people would say, yeah. So I was working with these great actors. Yeah. And he took, and these people would say, yeah. So I was working with these great actors. Yeah, yeah. And it was, and this one woman is probably the best actress I've ever worked with, this woman,

Kathleen Widows. Yeah. She was great. She played my mother. Yeah. And she just made it, she just had a real ease about it. Yeah.

And they all did. Yeah, yeah. Because they didn't take it too serious because it was a soap. They were doing their whatever at night. Yeah.

So they were just having fun and, you know, talking about who's illness and who's this and who's going with who. Yeah. Typical soap opera stuff. Like the soap opera behind the soap opera. Exactly. Exactly.

So that was sort of your baptism in the business and like a hell of a way to train for a few years. Yeah, totally. In terms of listening. Totally. Being with people, being with actors, doing the thing. No question. Acting like a nice guy. Acting with actors, doing the thing. No question. Acting like a nice guy.

Acting like a nice guy, totally. No question. And this was in the late 70s. Yeah. And I left to move out here in 81. So you're going to Studio 54, you're doing this, you're doing that. Oh, yeah, you remember that stuff? Crazy, crazy.

Oh, yeah. Oh, wow, I can't imagine. Yeah, there was a guy, the doorman, and he would never, ever let me in. At Studio 54? Yeah, but if Steve Rubell, one of the owners, if he saw me, he would always let me in. Cut to maybe 10, 15 years later, the doorman, I see him in Century City, and he comes up to me and he says, you know what, i want to ask you some questions about about being an actor and everything you know and i remembered him as the

doorman and he never let me in and i went fucking nuts on him you did i went nuts because it was so humiliating to be in line yeah waiting to get into studio 54 on a Monday or a Tuesday night, never mind a weekend, and just him poo-pooing me that I never forgot it. Yeah, of course. It's humiliating over and over again. Oh, it drove me nuts. So, wait, he just came up to you out of nowhere? Just came up. Just came up.

I was coming down to some place. After you were already successful. Yeah, I was doing stuff already. Yeah. And I said, you never let me in. You were the doorman, and you never, well, no, I was doing stuff already. And I said, you never let me in. You were the doorman and you never, well, no, I was just doing my job. I said, no, I kept going and going and going at him. I just held on to it for a long time.

Did it feel better to get it off your chest? It certainly did. It certainly did. And then did you help him? No. Gone over. Done. Over. Next.

So I can't imagine what the hell New York was like, because that was the craziest time. I mean, the late 70s, early 80s, before AIDS became a thing. You said before AIDS became a thing? Yeah. Yeah. Never mind that. That 42nd Street wasn't Disneyland. It was all porn houses.

Live sex shows. That was the first place I ever got recognized. In Times Square? Was it one of those? Oh, in a live sex show? Okay, so I'm going to the Port Authority's right there. Okay? Lovely place.

I went for my bus. To go where? To Jersey? Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And there was a place so you put the quarter in the thing comes up and you see naked girls dancing i'm 21 years old so that's like a big deal for me uh the thing closes i put it in again it opens up and this

one of the dancers she uh she she looks over at me and and the thing closes. As it's closing, she says, no, open it up again. Put another quarter in. So I said, all right. So I put another quarter up, and then she went down again, and she said, no, no, no, no. Let it up again. Put it up again. And then she calls a friend over when it comes up, and she comes up, and she says, look, isn't that? And she said, yeah, and they both yell out my name at the same time.

And it was every businessman in New York. It's all suits with attache cases. And she goes, Joey Perini. And she starts asking me questions about what's going to happen on the show. And the guy who's in charge is telling them, it's totally naked now, these girls. And they say, okay, keep dancing, girls. Keep dancing. Keep moving.

You always got to keep moving. And they're asking me questions about storyline and that was one of the first times i said oh my gosh my life will never be the same oh that's hilarious those weird dirty places oh my god so you do another world and what makes you decide to move out here because i always wanted to be in movies sure that was right. That was the thing. They weren't casting movies out of New York. They were, but I wasn't getting any. Oh. So they said, and at that time, New York was down on its luck, and I went to-

The city was. Yeah, the city, totally. So I moved out to LA, and- What year is that? This is 1981. Yeah. A friend of mine, i stayed at his house yeah uh he was married to melanie griffith at the time and they took my place in new york i i i was in now uh i was now out here you had oh so you had a place you could switch with them yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah you weren't living with people no it was just me by myself. It was on Big Rock Road in Malibu.

I couldn't be further away, and I didn't know anybody. But the place in New York was, oh, by the time you did the soap, you got your own place. Yeah. Oh, yeah, right. The second place I lived in was on 85th between Columbus and Amsterdam, and then the last place was on 72nd and Columbus, right down the street from the Dakota. Oh, yeah. Were you there when you got shot?

So, I come home that night, and there's a bunch of people outside. And where I parked my car was in the parking garage right next to the Dakota. Yeah. And I come out, and I remember it was freezing outside. And they're all singing, oh, we are singing. And they're singing it and I remember it was freezing outside, and they're all singing, all we are saying. Yeah. And they're singing it and singing it.

I said, what happened? They said, John Lennon just got assassinated. And here I was, like I walked into it, just wanted to park my car, and here were all these people with candles, and it was intense. Oh, man. It was a horrible day. So did you own that apartment? No. No, it was it was intense oh man it was a horrible day so oh so did you own that apartment no he's just not was renting so you yeah so you went out to malibu and they came and used your

place in new york right and you're just out there right and then and then they but he turned me on to the harry the best acting teacher that i think that's ever lived what's his last name harry mastro george so i went and started studying with him twice a week six hours a night because you know as he's always saying yeah man i was dedicated i was by the time i graduated uh college and i said i'm i'm making it it's like what we were saying before you come out here and you don't really know yeah what's gonna happen the one thing you don't think is gonna happen is that it's not gonna happen right you're just too stupid to think that it's not, you know, to realize all the odds that are against you. Yeah.

But at least, you know, you had some experience and you probably had an agent, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I had an agent in New York and they had a sister agent. At least you had some sense of the business. You weren't coming out here going like, where do I start? But nothing happened. Nothing happened. But you took these great classes.

Yeah, but work-wise, I didn't do my first movie until I was 30 years old. And at that time, or even now, that's really late. And the only reason why I got it is because of Melanie Griffith. Yeah. Because she was already cast in the movie. And I went home. I was dejected. I was 30 years old.

I went home to Jersey. And my parents were heavily involved into local politics. They said, call her up and ask her if she can get you an audition. Oh, Melanie? Yeah. And I said, there's no way I'm going to call her. I just thought that wasn't the way you do it. But I was so despondent.

And I just said, all right, I will. And I said, Melanie, I know you're doing this movie, Something Wild. It's actually the guys in that acting class that said, you know, you're really right for this part. Have you gone up for it? The psycho boyfriend? The psycho ex-boyfriend, right? Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

And she said, yeah. So Jonathan said that she could have a say in who played her husband because she had a bad experience with somebody that she worked with before. It was the husband right so so he called so so she called him up and he says melanie please i got it it's been taking me so long to find this guy i got it narrowed down to three people i i can't see anybody and she said jonathan you promised me that that that i was going to be able to to help pick and have say and who's going to play my husband. I want you to see Ray.

I think she just wanted to use that chip, that card, than believing that I could do it. But in any case, I went, and then there's the story. Monday, I meet him. Okay, Tuesday, I get a call. I come in and read with an actress. Come in and read with the actress. Thursday, I get a call. Come in and read with an actress. Come in and read with the actress. Thursday, I get a call. Come in and read with Jeff Daniels.

I'm saying, oh, my God, this is great. I'm not going to be told no by a casting agent. Now, if they don't want me, I'm just not right for the part or my acting chops wasn't right. That night, I'm watching Johnny Carson. Jeff comes on. He's talking about Woody. He's talking about Jack. He's talking about Jack. He had just done the Purple Rose of Cairo for Woody Allen.

He's talking about Jack Nicholson in terms of the deer. He was in both those movies. I hit the floor doing push-ups. I'm looking at the script because I have to read with him the next day. Yeah. And I just was ready. I just was ready. I just was ready. I did my homework.

And I'm a wound up crazy bastard at that. Yeah. And luckily, when he said action, that's what came out. Wow. That's great. Yeah. And you were at the end of your rope, too. Totally.

As a matter of fact, it was almost to the day. Yeah. Because my dad, being a depression baby, he handled my money, all the money that I made from the soap. I just gave it to him. Yeah. And I was living off that money for five years, but I lived in a struggling actor's box on Beachwood Avenue, five blocks up from Fountain. Is that Fountain there?

Franklin. Franklin. Yeah. is that fountain there or franklin franklin yeah and and it was i mean it was brown shag carpeting with dirty curtains yeah and and i know right where that was it was it was so you're about to run out is that what you're saying yeah well i had to get a regular job and i couldn't even your old man told you that because i didn't yeah he said like it's you know it's down to it and i remember i was with my my sister and her then husband and and we were at alice's restaurant you know at the pier out in malibu yeah and uh i i think i was supposed to call call them in and like like no cell phones or anything

so i was supposed to call in and and and find happened. Yeah. And they said that Jonathan wanted to talk to me. And he called me up and said, Ray, would you like to be Ray? Yeah. And I was like, wow. I got it. Yeah. I did. And I cried like a baby.

Yeah. Because the pressure of five years of not knowing that you're going to get what, whatever it is that you want. That you're working for. How did you end up starting with standup? Oh, I was, when I was in college, I just always wanted to do it as a kid and I couldn't figure out how to do it. And then, uh, you know, when I graduated college, I moved out here. I was a doorman at the comedy store. I got all fucked up on drugs, went back to Boston and, you know, started doing open mics. Once I figured out, you then, it was like you go do open mics. So I just kept doing them, and I kept doing them.

In my mind, though, there was nothing else to do. There was no other thing. But you decided in high school that you wanted to do stand-up? I think I decided in college. I went to college. I did a lot of other stuff. I acted. I wrote.

I did liberal arts and whatever. Where'd you go? BU. Oh, okay. Yeah, but when I graduated, I'm like, I'm going to LA. I want to be stand-up comic i thought always since i was a little kid i wanted to do it but it's hard to figure out what you do but like looking back on it i don't know over the years how the fuck i stayed in it you know because you just you know you just keep building your time you keep going up there getting beat up until you got an act and then you get you know get someone to

book the act and then you know you keep going right but the thing was is that you know people ask you about the career it's like if you do this shit you know most of the time you don't have a plan b it's not like you know there's no other thing no so you know you it's in your brain it's like there's no choices right right and you figure look look you watch people doing it you're saying i know I could do at least as good as this guy, and he's making a living. Yeah, I was driven by- That stuff kicks in. Oh, yeah, man.

I'd say the first decade of my life was driven by spite. Totally. It's the best motivator. Calling my manager, how the fuck did that guy get that thing? Exactly. Exactly. No question about it. Yeah.

I still do that. I'm still like that. Yeah. Yeah, you must have a tolerant agent. I don't know. I call a lot. You play guitar? I do, yeah.

A lot? Yeah. You? I did in sixth grade. Yeah? And I think I played at a dance once. We had one song. Yeah.

But I would sing upstairs, and I had a decent voice from what I hear. And my mother said, oh, I love when you play. And that shut me right down. I never did it again. Really? Yeah. Yeah, it was something I held on to. I did it when I was a kid.

And I just always did it by myself. And it's like a meditation. I got better. I keep a kid, and I just always did it by myself, and it's like a meditation. I got better. I keep getting better, so I keep playing. Every day you play? I pick it up. If I'm in town, I don't compulsively practice, but I'll put on some records, play jam with them.

Oh, really? Yeah. I start playing with some people sometimes. I keep trying to get better. That's all. It's a hobby, though. Right. That's one thing. I used to do a joke about it how like i never tried to be a professional

musician so my guitar isn't haunted by failure i don't is that why it looks so clean yeah it's not haunted like it just it doesn't represent something that didn't happen for me you know it's just something i enjoy doing so wait so let me just ask you about the about about harry again the acting teacher what was his last name again master george now was that like uh was that a scene study class was it a lot of people in there because you were with him for what four or five years before you got the part right uh yeah yeah yeah and after i did my first move something wild went back to class dominic eugene back to class field of dreams back to class goodfellas back to class. Dominic Nugent back to class. Field of Dreams back to class. Goodfellas back to class. Really? Yeah, I just kept

going because he just said that the imagination is like a muscle. The more you exercise it, the stronger it gets. And I bought into everything he said because it totally made sense to me. What was other things? Just that it's a child's game. Oh, that one, yeah. You just played

with a child's rules, but not at an adult level. Right. And it was as simple as that. And then the things that could throw you off were the things about you're worried about presentation. You're saying somebody else's words. You're saying things on cue. And that could throw you off. Right.

If you just stick to the playing, pretend, You can't go wrong in sticking with the story. It was really simple stuff. It wasn't like some crazy thing. But he came from the platform of anybody can do it. It's just, you know, if you just play the simple game or pretend. Oh, really? Where most acting teachers are saying, you can't do it, so I'm going to give you the methodology of how you can do it. Yeah. But I think the thing that really separates actors is I think some people, you know, you can work and work and work.

Who the hell knows why anyone's going to break? There's some people that have different talents for it or innately have it. But, yeah, you can function as an actor, but, you know, you somehow, I think, you're authentically yourself. Right. And always some part of that's going to come through. Totally. You know, you don't, it's not like you see a part that you play,

go like, who is that guy? Right, or like, all of a sudden, you're not going to get to the point of, yeah, there's a camera there. You're going to know there's a camera there, but you just ignore it and do what you have to do. Sure, right, yeah. You don't forget.

Not everybody can do that. It's a weird thing that once the camera's there, you know, it is a unique skill. All you got to do is watch porn yeah not everybody can do that it's a weird thing that once the camera's there you know it's a it is a unique skill all you got to do is watch porn and you realize like not everybody can do this you know they're just they can fuck on camera but they're not doing the other thing right it's a weird thing so okay so you do something something wild and demi directs you and that's early on it's like his first movie isn't it yeah what was he like then he was great he was great one because he gave me the part and two you know he started he said all right let's make some movie history yeah he was really really into it and there's nothing more scorsese had the same thing there's nothing more exciting than working with somebody who is really excited about playing pretend.

Yeah. It's very contagious and really makes you want to do it and do it for them. But you know that it's pretend. You don't have to live there. Yeah, exactly. Well, no, at first you did. At first I did. I was a little too methody

because i i didn't trust myself enough oh yeah so not that i went up beating up people but i kind of kept it always in my head always ruminating up up in my head what i'm what i'm doing the emotions of the character day and it's exhausting doing it i guess it would be you show up exhausted i can't work because i've been too busy being the guy when I was sleeping. You do it because the adrenaline kicks in. But then I can't imagine. It's interesting for me about Goodfellas. It's one of those movies where, especially with Italian movies,

especially with Scorsese, your whole life you've got guys coming up to you, right? Now to this day? Sure. That's it it i have kids coming up to me right because what happens is fathers turn their sons on to the movie but sometimes it's like you can tell the kids only 12 or 13 years old and he comes up and says i loved you in goodfellas and i'm saying what kind of parents do you have you're really too young to be watching it but because everybody's got their head in these things they could look up anything they want anyhow yeah so the kids now are much more sophisticated than we were as kids just because they could google whatever the fuck they want they can do whatever they want without anyone knowing it there's no way to control them because the most adults don't understand what the hell they're doing yep or how they can get things

yeah but i mean that part like that was your was your fourth movie, and it was a huge part. It was a huge lead. What was the auditioning process for that? I didn't audition at all. I just kept talking to Marty. Oh, really? I was the first person. It took about a year to get.

I was the first person from what I hear that he met, and then months go by. Yeah. Dominic and Eugene is at the venice film festival he was there was last temptation of christ i took my dad with me to venice uh for the experience uh and we're standing on the second level of the excelsior hotel yeah there's this crowd of people moving as as one yeah and from my vantage point on the second floor in the middle of it i saw marty yeah so i said i hadn't seen him in like months so i i just wanted to put my my my face in front of him yeah he remembered me so i kind of came running down i come marty marty and the he had bodyguards all around him because he was getting death threats because of last temptation and the controversy of what that movie was and they pushed me away

and i said no no no no i just want to say hi to marty i just want to say hi and that's what you're not travis pickle that's what well that's what that's he that's when he decided that he was going to cast me because the only thing he had really seen is something wild so he didn't know i was like and me personally to this day i've never gotten in a fight so to play these kind and henry hill the only way he got as far as he did was because he was a good soldier he did what he was told right he didn't you wasn't going around whacking people or things like that he was just getting them things to eat well whatever yeah so that's how the persistence got him uh yeah i guess you've never gotten into a fight no once in seventh grade once in seventh grade because me and this guy jeff roth we were fighting over what grammar school oh my god better

cafeteria food i swear to god i think it was something like that. So we went down. First, we were going to fight at the path. And then I said, no, not the path. Meet him down at the house. So then we went down to the house. It's a big field, the soccer fields and baseball fields. We had a fight, and it was stupid, and I won. At least you won.

I did. That's hilarious, because even today, I know I'm going to talk to you. And in my mind, I'm like, oh, boy, this guy's a tough fucking guy. What the fuck am I going to say to this guy? But that's interesting that you get identified

with the characters. Yeah, yeah. It does happen, yeah. Of course. Because that's it. How are they going to know you? They don't know you. Right?

Unless they saw the Muppet movies. Yeah, and then it's a different guy. Two Muppet movies with the M the muppets yeah maybe there's a younger generation that just thinks you're a sweetheart yeah exactly and the people from the soap yep oh yeah way back i imagine do you still get people recognize you from that come on uh sometimes but yeah they're a little older so when you did goodfellas i mean like that set I can't, like, and if you're tired of talking about it, I can't imagine how amazing it was to be on that set. Was it? It was the ultimate in playing pretend.

Yeah. But also, not to bring a downer into it, my mom was sick with cancer during the whole time and passed away in the middle of filming it. cancer during the whole time and passed away in the middle of filming it. And the Teamsters and Pesci, they all came to the funeral. They came to my house after. So it was really, so my thing is like, I can play pretend with everybody. My mom's dying. So I don't care who you are, what reputation you have, what movies you did.

This is something that's really serious. All we're doing is playing pretend, so let's play pretend. And I don't mean that in a cocky way. It's just the mindset that you get when you're going through something like that. It must have helped you out. It certainly didn't make me shy. So I just went and had fun. But again, Marty is one of those kinds of people that's so excited by the pretend of it all. Right, right.

So that, wow, that's amazing. And so like she passed away and then he still had a month or two to shoot or like what? Yeah, the first scene that I had, I remember the scene, I had a scene with Pauly and some other guy. Yeah. When they told me for sure to go home. Yeah. That was brutal. Yeah. But we still sure to go home. Yeah. That was brutal. Yeah.

But we still had to finish shooting, and then she did. She passed in my arms. She waited for me, no question about it. And then I go back, and the first scene back is one of the only times that there's laughing. It's when Karen Lorraine comes at me saying, you stood me up who do you think you are it's a frankie valley and blah blah blah way way way yeah yeah and that

was my first scene back oh like the day after a few days a few days after yeah wow yeah so you just walked right back in that's something thank god yeah thank god to tell you the truth right yeah yeah and and your old man was still around or no yeah yeah he's still around now no he died a couple years ago at 98 oh that's good run huh yeah wow so like what is it do you think like because you've done a lot of fucking movies and uh and you just you you clearly love to work yeah yeah sometimes you have to work. Yeah, yeah. Sometimes you have to work. Yeah, of course. Yeah, of course.

There's a couple in there that I'd rather not have done, but you got to do what you got to do. But Copland, I love that movie. That was a really good movie. Right? It was totally a good movie. So was Narc. Narc is a great fucking movie. Yeah.

You're fucking menacing in that. What is it with you and corrupt cops? I don't know. They like me. They like you to do that yeah so this show that like why is this um gonna be the last season of shades of blue i i have my theories but i don't know for sure i i think really what it is is that that that jen kind of had enough oh yeah it was really. She has so much on her plate.

She's doing the Vegas. Jennifer Lopez? Yeah, she's got the Vegas show. Yeah. She's got a two-hour dance show on NBC every week. Yeah. She's newly in love, and there weren't enough hours in a day.

And doing a series, especially something like this one, it's really, it's draining. It's draining and it takes a lot of time. And she didn't have that much time. She was busy with other things. Right. So, did they just write a conclusion to the investigation? I mean, what happens? I mean, this is the last season.

We didn't know until two weeks ago that it was ending. So, the season that they wrote was as if it was going to continue on. I wanted it to go on because it's just a great character. Yeah. But we didn't know until maybe now it's three weeks, a month, that this was going to be it. So it's not everything is tied up in a bow. It's just over, and that's all there is to it.

I was hoping they would keep it going and not replace Jen, because Jen is Jen, but they could have brought somebody else in because it's a good show. It's a really good show, but it's their ball and bat. Yeah, that's the business. We were in a movie together. We were? Yeah.

What? Flock of Dudes. No. Yes. With what's his name? D'Elia. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

I didn't even see the final cut of it. Neither did I. I don't think it ever came out. No, it did kind of come out. Yeah. Kind of? It's out. You can watch it.

Really? Yeah, I played the boss of you know those guys that's so funny i guess funny maybe we should watch it i know i didn't do scenes with you that i know no i had the scenes with the leah yeah i see him all the time at the comedy store so what the what are you working on now you got a movie working i just finished a movie with noah bound back really come out this fall and do you play a corrupt cop no i'm a lawyer in this one yeah it's funny cops love me when they when i see cops in new york we always like just of course shoot the shit well they they you understand them i mean you know there's got to know, like, I don't know what kind of research you do or whether you just pull from the, when you get a part like that, you know, like Copland or even the first season of Shades of Blue or any of them where, you know, NARC.

I mean, do you just stick with the script and then use your own imagination? Or do you talk to cops? No, no. In the beginning, I think the first time I played a cop was on Lawful Entry. And I went and did a ride-along with a sergeant. And I would go and ride with them. Yeah. As well as talking to them, going to the shooting range, reading books. Right. So I've done, reading books. Right.

So I've done plenty of research. Yeah. Yeah. And I used to really be into the research. I played a heart surgeon where I was watching open heart surgeries for weeks. Really? I was there so much that the doctor asked me, he said, do you want to come up and stand next to me while I'm doing this?

And I said, yeah, I would. And he says, all right, come on, stand next to me while i'm doing this and i said yeah i would and he says all right come on stand right here and the woman's chest was wide open oh my god and and he said do you want to touch your heart oh my god i said what he said do you want to touch your heart yeah yeah and i went down and touched god boom touch this woman's heart because it's not going up and down because they can't operate, but they got the bypass machine going. And I touched this woman's heart. Yeah, gloves on.

It was great. Yeah. I played a coroner once. So I was going down to the city coroner's office. And I hate being late. And there was a lot of traffic. I think it was on the 134, wherever it was. And I finally get there and

i run up i said i'm so sorry i'm late i am so sorry and they they turn he said no don't worry about it and he pointed he said that was him and there was a guy with a sheet over him dead he tried to cross the 134 oh my god and that's what the traffic was. He got hit and died. I mean, there's nothing funny about it. It was coincidental. Closure. It's closure. It's closure. So how long did you spend looking at bodies?

Just a day on that one. What other weird ass research did you do? Baseball. I played a lot of baseball when I did Field of Dreams. Rod Dado, who coaches the USC baseball team, has more national champions than in any other sport. He was a 13-time collegiate champion. So I went there and worked out with them.

And Donnie Buford used to play for the Orioles. Had you played in high school or college? Little League and junior high school. And then I got hit a couple times. And I said, that's it. I'm too chicken. Oh, you love the ball? Yeah.

You can't be afraid of the ball. You can't be afraid of the ball. And you just got to stand up there. And I don't know how they do it. Yeah. Because there was one kid who just had. And that time it was like heat but he had no control oh and i just i just didn't have him to to stand in there yeah i did no no it's like i i played uh little egan i that was it for me i

couldn't i thought he didn't hit by a fucking ball literally the first game or whatever a little ground ball comes if my my my my glove falls off boom the ball hits my finger breaks it it's like the first sign it's a total sign i was in center field i got hit in the fucking face i fell down i was under well you mean if someone hit you the ball or the grass it's a pop fly. Yeah. And I'm backing up. Right. And I trip and it bounced right off my fucking face.

And I'm like, that's it. If you get hit in the face in center field, you're not meant for the game. See? Right? Yeah, no. We're built for this stuff, though. Yeah. Oh, my God.

How often do you go back to Jersey? If I'm in New York now, my sister and dad, they were down in Florida, so I would always go and visit them. But when I'm in New York, and when I was doing the series, we shot it here, I would go home just to see some green. Yeah, yeah. My best friend Gene

lives in Scotch Plains, so I would go out there and just chill for a day or two. You guys are still best friends? Yeah. Since high school or something that's great third grade third grade and he was in Jersey yeah oh that's great yeah and everything you feel good you feel like you got closure in your life the adoption of everything yeah yeah all that yes and you're doing all right yeah yeah I still feel I have a lot more to do with this though oh yeah I still feel like I haven't made it. There's still things I want to do.

Well, I'm curious about this Bombeck movie. I guess you can't really talk about it, but was it a small movie like he usually does? Yeah, I mean, Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver, two hot people. Those big casts, yeah. Which, you know. But he shot it like he shoots his other movies?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, great. Noah's great. Yeah. He's really great. And I kind of got the script kind of late, and I really need time now, especially at 63, to learn my lines.

I can't do it overnight like I used to. Yeah, yeah. And he wants every I dotted and every T crossed. Right. And if you don't get that, he'll just tell you again, and he doesn't get flustered. He doesn't get maniacal. He doesn't roll his eyes. He's not looking at his watch.

Yeah. He's just doing it again. Yeah. You do it again. So you feel safe as an actor. And that only happened in one scene, and it was only part of one scene. Yeah. Everything else I got got but there was one

day i would like back yeah i thought you know you finish you do a scene yeah you do your stuff and it's over and then it turns around on the other people but i didn't realize it was still going to be on our side and sometimes after you do your stuff you just kind of you just get it out of there and and you give them the cues they need, but the camera's on them. Let them get the words right. Yeah. You know, it's weird because I'm like, I'm pretty new to acting. You know, I'm on this show Glow now and I'm still never, I'm still not 100% sure what's covered when I'm getting my coverage and when it's on them.

I know when it's a closeup, but a lot of times in the bigger shots, I'm just going all in all the time. That's what I did. Yeah. I don't, i i i agree with that yeah unless unless maybe you you've got a breakdown yeah yeah all right right sure sure back yeah yeah yeah but i i i think mine's will give it to him right do what the deeper gets i that's what i feel yeah yeah yeah just do it i know that's exciting wait for yeah there's some people that shut right the fuck off on their...

Whether it's your coverage. And it's sort of like, come on, give me something. I've heard of people not even showing up. Oh, they have someone else read for it? Yeah. A stand-in? Yeah. It's rude.

That's fucked up. All right, well, it's great to see you, man. Same here. It was great talking to you. Yeah. And best of luck with everything. Thank you. You too.

That was him man sat right across from me fucking Ray Liotta for reals let's play some sad rocking guitar instead of fucking grumbling mess. Boomer lives