David Oyelowo Returns

Actor David Oyelowo feels Conan-ified about being Conan O’Brien’s friend. David joins Conan once more to discuss his accidental introduction to the stage, nearly getting slapped by Oprah while filming The Butler, and exploring life after a wrongful incarceration in his latest film Newborn. For Conan videos, tour dates and more visit TeamCoco.com. Got a question for Conan? Call our voicemail: (669) 587-2847.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:02Conan O'Brien?

  Who do you shop for first on the holidays, Sona? Was it, do you shop for the kids or do you shop for Tac?

• 0:06Speaker 01

  My kids.

• 0:07Conan O'Brien?

  Okay.

• 0:07Speaker 01

  Or Oki.

• 0:08Conan O'Brien?

  You gotta get them your stuff.

• 0:08Speaker 01

  Or my dog.

• 0:09Conan O'Brien?

  And then your husband is last. Well, guess what? It's that time of year. You feel that, you smell that, uh, that cinnamon cider in the air? Do you smell that?

• 0:18Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 0:19Conan O'Brien?

  And you see pumpkins around, people buying turkeys. A little early to buy a turkey.

• 0:23Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 0:24Conan O'Brien?

  Doesn't matter. Holidays? I would say it's just around the corner, but that's a cliche. It's, uh, very nearby in the cupboard. Well, guess what? Amazon delivers joy with low prices on the gifts you want even this early in the season. So get ahead of the season. Shop early gifts, top picks, holiday decor, and advent calendars at low prices. Get ahead, start on holiday gifting with Amazon's low prices. Shop now at amazon.com/holiday.

• 0:55Conan O'Brien?

  Now, Sona, clearly I'm a very important person to you.

• 0:57Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 0:58Conan O'Brien?

  Just accept the premise and we'll move ahead.

• 0:59Speaker 01

  Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 1:00Conan O'Brien?

  I'm a very important person to you. What would you get me from Macy's for the holidays?

• 1:06Speaker 01

  A vase.

• 1:07Conan O'Brien?

  No, I don't want a vase. I want something better.

• 1:10Speaker 01

  A jacket.

• 1:11Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, nice jacket. I love a nice jacket.

• 1:13Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah, that jacket, nice jacket.

• 1:14Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, so now you have to do it. Cause you said you would.

• 1:15Speaker 01

  Aw, man, I didn't know you were doing that.

• 1:18Conan O'Brien?

  Well, I know the holidays, I know the holidays are months away, but it's never too early, Sona, to find gifts that I will love, gifts I will wear, and surprises that make the season unforgettable for me.

• 1:29Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 1:30Conan O'Brien?

  Macy's Gift Guide makes holiday shopping easy with beauty favorites, stylish fashion, jewelry, cozy essentials, must-have toys, home upgrades, and picks for every person on your list. Coach handbags, Breville appliances, Lego UG, and more all in one place. You can skip the scrolling and shop with confidence. Shop now in-store or online at macy's.com/giftguide.

• 1:55Speaker 02

  Hi, my name is David O'Gallagher and I feel

• 2:01Speaker 02

  Conan-ified.

• 2:03Conan O'Brien?

  Nice.

• 2:04Speaker 02

  About being Conan O'Brien's friend.

• 2:07Conan O'Brien?

  That is a very expensive process to be Conan-ified. Very few people can imagine the most expensive spa weekend.

• 2:38Conan O'Brien?

  Hey there, welcome to Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend. My name, Conan O'Brien. Sona Mafassian's joining us too.

• 2:45Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 2:46Conan O'Brien?

  And Matt Gourley is still out on paternity leave. But we are joined by David Hopping.

• 2:52Speaker 03

  Hello.

• 2:53Conan O'Brien?

  The assistant who replaced Sona and made her but a dim memory.

• 2:57Speaker 01

  Oh, dim.

• 2:59Speaker 03

  Sona's just full celebrity now.

• 3:01Speaker 01

  Dim memory.

• 3:02Conan O'Brien?

  Well, I don't even remember.

• 3:03Speaker 01

  We still work with each other.

• 3:05Conan O'Brien?

  Who are you?

• 3:07Speaker 01

  Oh, man.

• 3:08Conan O'Brien?

  Listen, when this episode drops, it's gonna be tax time. And I've been-

• 3:14Speaker 01

  Oh, my God, you're actually doing it.

• 3:15Speaker 03

  We're really talking about it?

• 3:16Conan O'Brien?

  I've been told that this is a dreadful thing to talk about, which makes me wanna talk about it.

• 3:20Speaker 01

  No.

• 3:21Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, so tax time, Sona. You got your papers in order?

• 3:26Speaker 01

  No, I just remembered when we were talking about this, I said, "Oh, no, I gotta send my accountant all my stuff."

• 3:32Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, well, how hard is that?

• 3:33Speaker 01

  It's a lot.

• 3:34Conan O'Brien?

  Do you have like a big shoebox that's filled with papers? No, that's the old pre-ship.

• 3:38Speaker 01

  Why are you laughing? Because I do. All of the papers that are emailed to me, I just stick them in a thing, a folder.

• 3:46Conan O'Brien?

  Okay.

• 3:46Speaker 01

  So, yeah, it's like a shoebox, but I don't have receipts.

• 3:49Conan O'Brien?

  Okay.

• 3:50Speaker 01

  I don't write my receipts.

• 3:52Conan O'Brien?

  Okay.

• 3:53Speaker 01

  I don't do any of that.

• 3:54Conan O'Brien?

  All right, so you just have some papers and you gotta get them to the accountant.

• 3:57Speaker 01

  Yeah, like you probably do.

• 3:58Conan O'Brien?

  That's a fun story. Oh, I don't touch anything, I live in a bubble. I'm a, you know, I'm an LLC. I'm an offshore illegal company. I, do you know what I mean? The papers get moved around. You know, things are purchased and sold without my knowledge and I'm just sitting in a geodesic dome covered in yak butter going, "What's happening? What's happening outside?"

• 4:24Speaker 01

  What's happening?

• 4:27Conan O'Brien?

  Um, David, I don't even wanna know what your story is.

• 4:30Speaker 03

  I still need to do mine too.

• 4:31Conan O'Brien?

  Okay.

• 4:32Speaker 03

  We're all behind.

• 4:32Conan O'Brien?

  Well, okay, but what do you have? Do you have, uh, papers?

• 4:36Speaker 03

  Papers? You, um, so you employ me?

• 4:39Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 4:39Speaker 03

  And so then I have to, I get those papers?

• 4:41Conan O'Brien?

  I don't even know that. Do you get paid for what you do?

• 4:43Speaker 03

  I get paid, you, you pay me.

• 4:45Conan O'Brien?

  That's insane. I don't pay you. Uh, faceless corporation, yes. Again, I don't know what's happening. Um, Eduardo. What's your story? How do you get your taxes done? On time? But who does your taxes?

• 4:57Speaker 01

  Oh, what a dick.

• 4:58Conan O'Brien?

  Who does your, who does your taxes? You want me to give like a plug?

• 5:01Speaker 01

  No.

• 5:02Conan O'Brien?

  Oh, I was curious.

• 5:03Speaker 01

  Do you have an account? You have a guy?

• 5:04Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, I have a guy.

• 5:05Speaker 01

  Cause you know, my dad does his own.

• 5:06Conan O'Brien?

  Your dad does his own?

• 5:07Speaker 01

  Yeah. Fraud!

• 5:09Conan O'Brien?

  There's no way he's not breaking the law.

• 5:12Speaker 01

  How dare you?

• 5:13Conan O'Brien?

  He came from another land. He doesn't know about our American ways.

• 5:17Speaker 01

  A lot of people do their own taxes. They just fill in things on the boxes.

• 5:21Conan O'Brien?

  I know, but come on. Is he on the up and up, your pops?

• 5:24Speaker 01

  Yeah, Gil is all, how dare you? What is your issue with my dad?

• 5:30Conan O'Brien?

  Well, no, I love-

• 5:30Speaker 01

  You're just jealous he can grow a mustache.

• 5:32Conan O'Brien?

  No, I, I love your dad.

• 5:34Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 5:34Conan O'Brien?

  I love your dad. Gil is the man. But, I just curious, uh, you know, he came to this land, America, and I'm curious if he's familiar with all of our ways? And he's paying taxes? It's all going well?

• 5:49Speaker 01

  He's been here for almost 60 years.

• 5:53Conan O'Brien?

  Takes a while to get used to stuff. You know? That's all.

• 5:58Speaker 01

  Oh, you're awful. You're awful. Look how you're smiling. You love it. You love this version of you. This is you. This is your real you. Cream, halo, cream. The real you. This is it.

• 6:11Conan O'Brien?

  No, listen, I, uh, what's this now? Blay, you got something to say?

• 6:13Speaker 01

  I know, Blay. I wanna hear who says Blay taxes.

• 6:16Speaker 04

  I don't, not only do I have nothing to say, I'm trying to hide behind Sona's hair so you don't look at me.

• 6:21Speaker 01

  No, but who does your taxes, Blay?

• 6:23Speaker 04

  Okay. My mom does my taxes.

• 6:25Speaker 01

  Oh, his mommy does his taxes.

• 6:27Speaker 04

  My mom, my, Mary Blair, bless her heart, does my taxes.

• 6:31Conan O'Brien?

  That's sweet.

• 6:32Speaker 04

  Um, and I-

• 6:34Conan O'Brien?

  So, I'm sorry.

• 6:35Speaker 04

  It's a very, it's a very, very emotional thing between the two of us. I, she demands to do it. It's back and forth. It's-

• 6:42Speaker 01

  She demands to do it.

• 6:44Speaker 04

  No, she does.

• 6:45Conan O'Brien?

  I don't think she demands to do it.

• 6:46Speaker 04

  She absolutely demands to do it.

• 6:48Conan O'Brien?

  So she's on the phone with you saying-

• 6:50Speaker 04

  She is.

• 6:50Conan O'Brien?

  How come you spent this much on a Spider-Man flashlight?

• 6:54Speaker 04

  You know what? She actually is, but-

• 6:57Conan O'Brien?

  Cause you buy, come on, play, play, hold it, wait a minute. You don't silence me on Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend.

• 7:02Speaker 04

  Okay, alright, fine.

• 7:03Conan O'Brien?

  You take the punishment.

• 7:04Speaker 04

  Oh my god, Jesus.

• 7:06Conan O'Brien?

  So you have to talk to your mom-

• 7:08Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 7:09Conan O'Brien?

  About all the shit you buy, the video games, the figurines, right? The swords?

• 7:16Speaker 04

  Yes, yes.

• 7:18Conan O'Brien?

  Does your mom, and your mom, then your mom goes over the, all the stuff that you bought?

• 7:22Speaker 04

  Yes, she does. Yes, but here's the thing, you don't understand. She's into it. She's into it. I get to talk to her about it. She does not say, "Oh, you bought a Spider-Man costume." She's like, "How many Spider-Man costumes can we write off?"

• 7:34Speaker 01

  That's nice.

• 7:34Speaker 04

  She's fully into it.

• 7:35Conan O'Brien?

  How can you write off?

• 7:37Speaker 04

  She asked me.

• 7:37Conan O'Brien?

  How can you write off a Spider-Man costume?

• 7:39Speaker 04

  Because I, I work for you. What are you talking about?

• 7:42Conan O'Brien?

  Wait a minute. Because you work for me?

• 7:45Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 7:45Conan O'Brien?

  You're allowed to have the government pay for part of your Spider-Man costume?

• 7:49Speaker 04

  No, the whole thing.

• 7:50Conan O'Brien?

  No, audit him, audit him.

• 7:53Speaker 01

  You're blaming Gil. You're blaming Gil for fraud. Look at this.

• 7:57Conan O'Brien?

  Yes, I'm sorry. I think you and Gil are guilty of fraud.

• 8:00Speaker 04

  It's all above board. This is how good my mom, this is how cool my mom is. She, I was gonna go to the Renaissance Fair and she's like, "Maybe you should buy another sword. We could write that off." And I was like, okay.

• 8:09Conan O'Brien?

  Explain to me-

• 8:10Speaker 01

  How are we writing it off?

• 8:11Conan O'Brien?

  Oh, wait a minute. I think we have a lawyer who's probably not in today, but he could join us.

• 8:15Speaker 01

  I wanna know.

• 8:16Speaker 04

  We should call him on the phone.

• 8:16Conan O'Brien?

  But listen, listen, why, why, the fact that you work for Conan O'Brien doesn't mean that I just bought 900 pounds of silly string and I don't wanna pay for it.

• 8:27Speaker 04

  If I can get you to talk about it on the podcast and I bring in, guess what?

• 8:30Conan O'Brien?

  Get you to talk about it?

• 8:31Speaker 04

  Who?

• 8:32Conan O'Brien?

  Get you to talk about it? So you're the puppet master?

• 8:35Speaker 04

  I'm not. I'm just saying, I'm the worm tongue. I'm worm tongue. I whisper in your ear.

• 8:39Speaker 01

  You did talk about his sword.

• 8:40Conan O'Brien?

  Wait a minute, this is clear to me.

• 8:42Speaker 04

  Who has talked about, who has managed to bring in his sword two years in a row? And his new act.

• 8:47Conan O'Brien?

  So that means Aaron Blair. This wasn't an idea that you thought was good for the podcast. You thought, I've gotta write this fucker off. And I came in and I jammed it into the conversation. Conan be fucked, whether it's good or not. And then you walk away and Uncle Sam takes it up the old star spangled yin yang.

• 9:06Speaker 04

  It can be both. I can write it off and it can be good content.

• 9:09Speaker 03

  I don't like this. So if we talk about something on the podcast, it's a write-off?

• 9:12Speaker 04

  That's what I'm, it's part of my job. I need it for my job. I gotta write it off.

• 9:16Conan O'Brien?

  So how's that Hillary Duff ticket going?

• 9:19Speaker 03

  The Backstreet Boys tickets, write-off?

• 9:21Speaker 04

  You should talk to my mom. She would say, you could easily write it off.

• 9:25Speaker 01

  Is your mom a therapist? Is she even an accountant?

• 9:28Speaker 04

  No, she's a therapist. She's a TurboTax.

• 9:31Conan O'Brien?

  Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Your, your mom isn't even a tax? Your mom is not an accountant?

• 9:41Speaker 04

  No, not, not at all.

• 9:42Conan O'Brien?

  And she's not a tax?

• 9:42Speaker 04

  No, and she's actually bad at it.

• 9:44Conan O'Brien?

  So your mom is insisting on doing it and then she just hires TurboTax?

• 9:47Speaker 04

  She doesn't hire it. I, yeah.

• 9:48Conan O'Brien?

  And says, my son just bought seven Xena Warrior Princess chestplates?

• 9:52Speaker 04

  That's right.

• 9:53Conan O'Brien?

  And we want our cash back?

• 9:54Speaker 04

  That's correct. Yes, that's exactly it.

• 9:56Conan O'Brien?

  This is, this is a...

• 9:58Speaker 01

  I'm dying. I'm dying.

• 9:59Conan O'Brien?

  This is, this is, no.

• 10:02Conan O'Brien?

  There's just, we are, we are, we are just rotten with fraud. There's just fraud permeating this whole, and I'm exposing it right now.

• 10:14Speaker 01

  We're all gonna get audited.

• 10:15Conan O'Brien?

  But it's not fraud if it's good content.

• 10:18Speaker 04

  We're making a good...

• 10:19Conan O'Brien?

  I haven't listened to this. I don't listen to this thing. I don't know if it's good content. I can't...

• 10:23Speaker 01

  Oh my god.

• 10:25Conan O'Brien?

  Okay, I want you investigated. I'm gonna see to that. We're shutting this down.

• 10:29Speaker 03

  Adam's crying in the corner.

• 10:30Conan O'Brien?

  Adam, Adam.

• 10:31Speaker 04

  I've never seen Adam laugh this hard.

• 10:32Conan O'Brien?

  Adam, I don't know what you're doing. You're supposed to be running this thing. You're the podcast whisperer and you're...

• 10:37Speaker 05

  I feel really, I'm offended by Blake. I'm really offended. I really feel like we've all been taken advantage of.

• 10:44Conan O'Brien?

  Keith comes in with this shit.

• 10:45Speaker 05

  I'm shocked.

• 10:46Conan O'Brien?

  And he's like, I'm just trying to help the podcast. Oh, help the podcast. The podcast is a juggernaut. This thing's a, you can't beat this thing with a stick. And then you come in here with your Princess Galactica helmet and we're supposed to...

• 11:03Conan O'Brien?

  Get you off the hook. Unbelievable.

• 11:07Speaker 05

  It's such a scam.

• 11:08Conan O'Brien?

  Unbelievable. There are inner-city schools that don't have computers. But this guy has Xena Warrior Princess swords.

• 11:16Speaker 03

  TurboTax plot twist is my favorite thing ever.

• 11:19Speaker 01

  Keep bringing up Xena Warrior Princess. You've brought her up so many times.

• 11:27Conan O'Brien?

  She was brought to my... Lucy Lawless was brought to my house once at a party by someone on staff. Who brought Lucy Lawless? And I was like, what is Lucy Lawless doing here? I love her. She was great. Frank Smiley brought her to my apartment. And he was like, look, I brought Lucy Lawless. And I'm like, I don't know her. Well, you'd know her now. Anyway, that got you off the hook, my Lucy Lawless story. Um, okay. Good lord. My guest today starred in such movies as Selma, Lincoln, and The Butler. Now you can see him in the new film, Newborn. Uh, this man is a delight. He's a massive talent and a real joy.

• 12:11Conan O'Brien?

  And I'm so happy he's back on the podcast.

• 12:18Conan O'Brien?

  David Oyelowo, welcome.

• 12:24Speaker 02

  Every time I think of you, it elicits good thoughts.

• 12:27Conan O'Brien?

  Oh, that's so nice of you.

• 12:28Speaker 02

  It's true.

• 12:29Conan O'Brien?

  I can return that favor because not long ago, our booker Paula Davis brought up your name and said that you might be coming back. And I immediately said, I love that guy. You are, you are so funny and we just had a joyous time.

• 12:47Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 12:47Conan O'Brien?

  Uh, in our last interview, so I was so happy you could come back.

• 12:50Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 12:50Conan O'Brien?

  Really thrilled to have you.

• 12:51Speaker 02

  Thank you. Thanks for having me again.

• 12:53Conan O'Brien?

  And, uh, you're in a good mood. You came in, you've, you know. I asked you about your family. You said everything's going well.

• 12:59Speaker 02

  Yes, I told you that my eldest son proposed to his girlfriend last night.

• 13:04Speaker 01

  Oh, last night?

• 13:06Speaker 02

  Last night.

• 13:07Conan O'Brien?

  And I just watched a video of it.

• 13:09Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 13:09Conan O'Brien?

  Which then I reposted.

• 13:12Speaker 01

  Oh, no.

• 13:13Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, I got excited.

• 13:15Speaker 02

  Damn it.

• 13:16Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, and guess what? I put ads on it.

• 13:19Speaker 03

  I monetized it.

• 13:20Conan O'Brien?

  I monetized it and I'm making a lot of money right now.

• 13:24Speaker 03

  I'm just impressed you knew how to repost.

• 13:28Conan O'Brien?

  No, it was a really beautiful moment and I, you must be overjoyed.

• 13:33Speaker 02

  I can't even begin to tell you. It just brought back so many memories because I proposed to his mom when she was 19 and I was 21. So we were babies. They're 23 and 24, my son's 24. And it just brought back all the memories of proposing to my wife and watching this video. I was on a plane from New York last night and my wife sent me a text, which came through as an iMessage. And then she sent the video and it wouldn't download.

• 14:02Conan O'Brien?

  Oh my God.

• 14:03Speaker 02

  And I couldn't get on the wifi and it was just, it was interminable. Just saying downloading, downloading, downloading, download. And you know, just to not be able to. And then it finally came through and I just, and you know, there's something about the oxygen on planes that makes you more emotional. And so like watching, I just, the feels were just roiling. So I am over the moon.

• 14:27Conan O'Brien?

  Well, congratulations to everybody. I can't wait to go to the wedding.

• 14:33Speaker 02

  So presumptuous.

• 14:34Conan O'Brien?

  He posts the video that invites himself to the wedding. Oh my goodness. Well, I'm sorry. I'm just thrilled to be there and to get to sing a song.

• 14:45Conan O'Brien?

  My dream.

• 14:46Speaker 02

  Now you jest about this.

• 14:50Conan O'Brien?

  Yes, I do. Yes, I do.

• 14:52Speaker 02

  Well, I only say that because my mom, God rest her soul, for all of my childhood, threatened to sing at my wedding. Now, the reason why you may sense a bit of trauma as I, as I start telling this story is my mother was also tone deaf.

• 15:13Conan O'Brien?

  Yep.

• 15:14Speaker 02

  And she would insist.

• 15:16Conan O'Brien?

  Also tone deaf.

• 15:20Speaker 03

  We didn't want to tell you, so we had him come to tell you.

• 15:23Speaker 02

  Who's the other person in this story who's tone deaf? We, you, um, no, no, no, no, no. And she would, she would take to, uh, uh, singing when I was watching my cartoons, which is incredi- when I tell you, so she- Jesus loves me, these I know, for that- That is the soundtrack of my childhood.

• 15:50Conan O'Brien?

  And you're just trying to enjoy your cartoons?

• 15:52Speaker 02

  Literally, like mommy, I can't, I can't hear David Ben, I can't hear the incredible- And she was, "I rebuke in the name of Jesus. Are you telling me I cannot sing?"

• 16:05Speaker 02

  So that-

• 16:06Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, that's fantastic.

• 16:07Speaker 02

  That's the backdrop to her saying, "One day I'm going to sing at your wedding." And so, so we, we had managed, we had managed, because she wanted to sing during the ceremony, and, and the wedding ceremony, and we're like, "Absolutely no way. Do not let a mic anywhere near her." It got, it got to the speeches. And just picture it, there's a, there's a, there's a high table. My dad finishes making his speech, is passing the mic to my best man, and all is like, "Brrrr!"

• 16:46Speaker 01

  Oh my god.

• 16:48Speaker 02

  Everybody, I'm going to sing a song because I like to sing. Not because it's my wedding, not in like, just because I like to sing.

• 17:00Conan O'Brien?

  I like to sing.

• 17:04Speaker 02

  Life's journey beginning.

• 17:10Speaker 02

  When you are in love. At the end of every verse, everyone goes,

• 17:25Conan O'Brien?

  I like, that's just screaming.

• 17:26Speaker 02

  Five verses. Five. She gets a standing ovation.

• 17:34Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 17:34Conan O'Brien?

  Of course.

• 17:35Speaker 02

  Because of the relief.

• 17:37Conan O'Brien?

  Yes, that had stopped.

• 17:39Speaker 02

  But her interpretation, you see, if I made an album, it would sell like hotcakes.

• 17:46Conan O'Brien?

  Well, see, this is perfect. You need, you need to go full circle and you need to have that moment for your son and his bride to be. And I can do that for you.

• 17:57Speaker 02

  Wow.

• 17:58Conan O'Brien?

  I can do that for you. It's just a, I'm gonna put it out there.

• 18:00Speaker 02

  Thank you.

• 18:01Conan O'Brien?

  And then you're gonna let it drop and, yes.

• 18:03Speaker 02

  And never mention it again.

• 18:07Conan O'Brien?

  You're, you're gonna start getting calls from your publicist. Conan keeps, what? Conan wants to know when? He wants to bring his tuba? He plays the tuba?

• 18:18Speaker 02

  Since he posted that video, he just will not stop calling.

• 18:23Conan O'Brien?

  Well, that's really, you know, I don't know if you have this, but you went through this. Uh, you, you got married, you said when you were 21, 22, 22. And I always have this all the time where I think, I'll have done something when I was 22. But now that I have children that age and approaching that age, I always think they're too young to be doing any of the things that I was doing at that age.

• 18:47Speaker 02

  Absolutely.

• 18:48Conan O'Brien?

  They can't be, they can't be walking down the street by themselves. They're too young.

• 18:55Conan O'Brien?

  What do you mean you went to an ATM and got some money? That's something an adult does. And it's, it's this strange? We all do it. You're gonna do it with your kids where your kids are, you know, your kids are four now.

• 19:09Speaker 01

  They're four.

• 19:09Conan O'Brien?

  But you're gonna see that when they're 19, the idea of them doing anything that you did at 19 is gonna be just horrifying to you.

• 19:18Speaker 01

  I, well, even now, them having a complete thought and I'm blown away, like just finishing a full sentence. I'm like, when did this happen?

• 19:25Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 19:26Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 19:26Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah. No, it, it is the joy about being a parent, but it is also terrifying. I mean, like Jess was literally 19 when we got engaged. My daughter, my youngest is 14. The idea that in five years.

• 19:40Conan O'Brien?

  Right.

• 19:40Speaker 02

  I mean, it's, it's a ridiculous thought. But my dad, my dad didn't get married till he was 40, didn't have me till he was 42. So, and he was my hero. So I, I just thought that's what I will do. And then, uh, and then I met this woman who I just couldn't picture any future days without her in it. And it just happened early. And I remember going to my dad and saying, this is the, um, The woman I I want to marry. Um, and he and he was just like, absolutely not. That it is way too early. It is irrational. It is, you know, and I just, I I remember saying to him, well, you're invited to the wedding if you want to come. If not, I'm doing this. And and and that was my my position on it.

• 20:24Speaker 02

  And he had to kind of find his way to the reality of that. And I and in the two biggest decisions of my life were in defiance of my dad, who I married and the profession I went into.

• 20:37Conan O'Brien?

  Oh, he was not a fan of you becoming an actor?

• 20:40Speaker 02

  No, no, he said, why do you want to go and be a jester?

• 20:43Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, that's right.

• 20:44Speaker 02

  Yeah, which is what you do for a living.

• 20:47Speaker 01

  Oh, Fern!

• 20:48Conan O'Brien?

  No, I.

• 20:50Speaker 01

  And accurate.

• 20:51Conan O'Brien?

  No, I.

• 20:52Speaker 02

  My own self a layup. That was terrible. Why could I do that? You're so nice. I started this by saying I feel Conanified.

• 21:01Conan O'Brien?

  David, David.

• 21:01Speaker 01

  This is so serious.

• 21:02Conan O'Brien?

  I see myself as a visionary.

• 21:05Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 21:05Conan O'Brien?

  And I see myself as a healer. I speak, it looks like I'm a jester or that I'm clowning about, but really I'm holding a mirror up to society and healing it through my craft.

• 21:19Speaker 01

  Craft?

• 21:23Conan O'Brien?

  I tried it.

• 21:32Conan O'Brien?

  You know, winning an award, that's a big achievement, right?

• 21:35Speaker 01

  Yeah, I love awards.

• 21:35Conan O'Brien?

  Every now and then in life, maybe something nice like that comes your way. Winning them consistently is almost impossible. It just doesn't happen, you know? Well, guess what? Winning five times in six years? You know what that sounds like to me? Sustained excellence.

• 21:49Speaker 01

  Nice.

• 21:50Conan O'Brien?

  Hyundai has done just that, earning the title of America's best SUV brand for 2026 from U S News and World Report. You are a very happy Hyundai driver.

• 21:58Speaker 01

  I drive a Hyundai Palisade and I love my car. I love it. I love driving it around.

• 22:03Conan O'Brien?

  I've been tooling around in an Ioniq 5 N, which I love. Beautiful car. Well, listen, whether you need an SUV for everyday life, your next big adventure or extra room for family and friends, Hyundai has an option for you. The Tucson Hybrid is loaded with technology and built for everyday life. The Santa Fe Hybrid is fully capable and ready for adventure. The Palisade, that's yours, right?

• 22:22Speaker 01

  Hello!

• 22:23Conan O'Brien?

  They're gonna rename that the Sona. The Palisade Hybrid, yeah, delivers premium capability and class-leading interior space with available, I have this memorized, H-Track all-wheel drive, up to an EPA-estimated 619 miles of range on vehicles like the Palisade Hybrid and Hyundai's industry-leading warranty. It's easy to see why Hyundai continues to deliver the quality, innovation, technology, and value drivers expect from an award-winning brand. View U.S. News Best Cars at cars.usnews.com and call 562-314-4603 for complete details. Who do you shop for first on the holidays, Sona? Was it, do you shop for the kids or do you shop for Tac?

• 23:01Speaker 01

  My kids.

• 23:01Conan O'Brien?

  Okay.

• 23:02Speaker 01

  Or Oki.

• 23:02Conan O'Brien?

  You gotta get them your stuff.

• 23:03Speaker 01

  Or my dog.

• 23:03Conan O'Brien?

  And then your husband is last. Well, guess what? It's that time of year. You feel that, you smell that cinnamon cider in the air? Do you smell that?

• 23:13Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 23:14Conan O'Brien?

  And you see pumpkins around, people buying turkeys. Little early to buy a turkey.

• 23:18Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 23:19Conan O'Brien?

  Doesn't matter. Holidays, I would say it's just around the corner, but that's a cliche. It's very nearby in the cupboard. Well, guess what? Amazon delivers joy with low prices on the gifts you want, even this early in the season. So get ahead of the season. Shop early gifts, top picks, holiday decor, and advent calendars at low prices. Get ahead, start on holiday gifting with Amazon's low prices. Shop now at amazon.com/holiday. Owning a car or home comes with responsibilities. Sure, it's fun, but sometimes it makes you wonder why you ever longed for adulthood in the first place. I do that all the time. I'm like, oh, these bills, these bills. What am I gonna do?

• 24:01Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 24:02Conan O'Brien?

  You know, when you own a house, you gotta fix it yourself. Sona, you see this to be true, right?

• 24:06Speaker 01

  Yeah, your garage door breaks and you're like, well, I have to fix it.

• 24:10Conan O'Brien?

  Probably at first you said, hey, I'll get the super to fix it. It's your house, dude.

• 24:13Speaker 01

  It's mine, dude.

• 24:14Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah. Liberty Mutual customizes your car and home insurance to save you money. In fact, they work overtime to tailor your insurance policy around what you actually need. The only thing they can't do is get that Liberty, Liberty, Liberty, Liberty jingle out of your head.

• 24:26Speaker 01

  Liberty, Liberty, Liberty.

• 24:28Conan O'Brien?

  Liberty, Liberty. It's in my head all the time.

• 24:29Speaker 01

  Yeah, me too.

• 24:30Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah. Start your quote at libertymutual.com.

• 24:39Conan O'Brien?

  Your last name is so spectacular. I'm caught. What does it mean? Is there a translation? Does it have a meaning?

• 24:45Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 24:45Conan O'Brien?

  Oyelowo is such a great-

• 24:47Speaker 02

  So, um, oyelowo is the Anglicized way of saying it. In Yoruba, it's oyelowo. And don't try. I don't want you to hurt yourself.

• 24:58Conan O'Brien?

  I'm gonna do it.

• 24:59Speaker 02

  Don't hurt yourself.

• 25:02Speaker 02

  But it means a king deserves respect.

• 25:04Conan O'Brien?

  Wow.

• 25:04Speaker 02

  Is what it means. Yeah. So, uh-

• 25:06Conan O'Brien?

  That is so, uh, to have a last name that really means something.

• 25:09Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 25:09Conan O'Brien?

  Great. Does your name mean anything, Movsesian?

• 25:13Speaker 01

  I A N at the end of Armenian names means "son of", so it's just "son of Mo- Moses".

• 25:18Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah. Mine's just a verb.

• 25:20Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 25:21Conan O'Brien?

  Hopping?

• 25:21Speaker 01

  Hopping.

• 25:22Conan O'Brien?

  Okay.

• 25:23Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 25:25Conan O'Brien?

  Okay. I almost hired Jack skipping, but I went with David hopping.

• 25:31Conan O'Brien?

  I think Conan is wide face.

• 25:35Conan O'Brien?

  I looked it up once and I wasn't, I wasn't happy. Broad of forehead.

• 25:40Speaker 01

  What is the O? The O, Brian?

• 25:43Conan O'Brien?

  They, I've heard people claim that it means you're related to kings, but then you walk around Ireland and you go, "No!"

• 25:50Speaker 02

  The internet says "little wolf" or "little hound" is what Conan means.

• 25:54Conan O'Brien?

  Right.

• 25:55Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 25:56Conan O'Brien?

  Okay.

• 25:56Speaker 01

  That's cute.

• 25:57Conan O'Brien?

  I've, I've never heard that before, so I think someone just put that in.

• 26:01Speaker 01

  But it's also, it's little wolf and little hound.

• 26:06Conan O'Brien?

  So, uh, your father, is this correct? Your father had tribal markings?

• 26:11Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 26:12Conan O'Brien?

  And what was, was it Yoruba is the tribe?

• 26:14Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 26:15Conan O'Brien?

  Okay.

• 26:15Speaker 02

  The Yoruba tribe. So, yeah, tribal, he had four, um, tribal marks, uh, on both cheeks and he had the word "ballet" written on his, uh, stomach. And with, and this was done with blades when you were a kid.

• 26:28Conan O'Brien?

  Oh my god.

• 26:29Speaker 02

  I know. Really intense. Um, and, but I grew up with my dad telling me that the reason he had these four slashes on his cheeks was because he had fought a tiger. And, um, and I completely bought it. And it was incredibly useful at school every time my dad came to pick me up. Because, uh, anyone who was messing with me, I was like, "You see that on my dad's face? Tiger."

• 26:55Speaker 02

  That was a tiger.

• 26:56Conan O'Brien?

  Do you want that man mad at you?

• 26:58Speaker 02

  Exactly.

• 26:59Conan O'Brien?

  That's incredible.

• 27:00Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But we then moved to Nigeria and I got picked up at the airport by all of my uncles. And literally, I was like, did everyone fight tigers? Like, what, what, what, what is going on?

• 27:15Conan O'Brien?

  That tiger got around.

• 27:16Speaker 02

  It just like went rampant on my family, this, this tiger.

• 27:23Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah. I jumped in to save your dad, and I jumped in to save him. I jumped in to save him.

• 27:31Conan O'Brien?

  So you were, where were you born? You were born in?

• 27:34Speaker 02

  I was born in Oxford, in England, and I was there till the age of two, so I don't really remember it. Then we moved to London, and I was there till the age of six, and then we moved to Lagos, Nigeria, and I was there till 13 before we moved back to, to London.

• 27:49Conan O'Brien?

  I've been to Oxford twice, and I just went for the second time. I want to say about five, six months ago, and it is, it is hard not to feel erudite when you're walking around in that environment.

• 28:04Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 28:04Conan O'Brien?

  And people have asked me what it's like, and I say, it is the closest thing to Hogwarts on earth that I have encountered.

• 28:09Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 28:10Conan O'Brien?

  I've never seen anything like that, and it's just got so much history. I know Cambridge is the same thing. You walk around these places that have been around for 800 years. I don't know how many, you know, and you think about all the insane talent that walked those streets.

• 28:27Speaker 02

  I know. I think that's why my dad really wanted to be there, just to be around it, which is why I ended up being born there. And he decided he was going to go into the medical profession until, as he tells it, he realized he had an apoplectic fear of blood. And so, you know, I can't remember if it was a day that they were supposed to be dissecting a cadaver or something like that, and yeah, he was out cold.

• 28:54Conan O'Brien?

  That's not unlike my dad, who went to medical school, and then I think late in medical school. Was around, um, you know, patients and blood and said, I want to be in a laboratory.

• 29:07Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 29:08Conan O'Brien?

  Uh, and he did great work there, but I, I think he wasn't up for that part.

• 29:14Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, no, I mean, to find the thing it is that you truly love and that it loves you back is, I think, Elysium. My dad took a while to sort of, I don't know that he ever actually found the thing that he really, because he, he.

• 29:28Conan O'Brien?

  He would try a lot of different things?

• 29:30Speaker 02

  Well, he, he tried medical profession, decided he didn't like blood, so I wanted to be an architect, couldn't really draw.

• 29:38Conan O'Brien?

  They're gonna say, but he hated houses? Fear of houses?

• 29:45Speaker 02

  So, um, yeah, I mean, you know, the, the happiest he became ultimately was, um, he and my mom ran a sort of minicab firm in, in London. So that, yeah, just driving people around was the thing he sort of became happy with.

• 30:00Conan O'Brien?

  Also, I've always thought, if I needed to pick up a second job, I wouldn't mind being an Uber driver because I love talking to people so much. And I love trying to find out what's going on in their lives.

• 30:12Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 30:13Conan O'Brien?

  And filming them when they don't know I'm filming them.

• 30:16Speaker 01

  What?

• 30:18Conan O'Brien?

  We'll get into that part later.

• 30:21Speaker 01

  That's a good time.

• 30:23Conan O'Brien?

  But you know what's funny is your, uh, career, your start as an actor was, as all the best things are, a little bit accidental. Because you said, there was a, I've heard that there was a, or read that there was a subway strike happening. And you think that this contributed to you becoming an actor. And I'm curious, how does that happen?

• 30:43Speaker 02

  Well, because I was at this youth theater group that I'd only attended because I fancied this girl who, um, you know, I don't know that she knew it. Um, and I just kept on going, um, for her. Um, but I was very shy and I, I, we were rehearsing a play. And I would always just sit, you know, hoping I would maybe be in the chorus or something so that I could keep seeing. This girl. And then one day, there was a tube strike, like a subway strike. And the three guys who were being touted to play the lead were all stuck on trains. And so the director said to me, David, just read in and, you know, while we wait for the guys to arrive.

• 31:26Conan O'Brien?

  For the real actors to come.

• 31:28Speaker 02

  Literally, literally. And I very much thought of them as that. And I had the page and I guess I just did it the way I thought it should be done. And I finished this speech and the room just went completely silent. And I thought, oh, it was that bad.

• 31:48Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 31:48Speaker 02

  It was that bad that these people are speechless with how bad it was. And then three days later, I was cast in the lead of this play. And although I didn't understand the significance of it at the time, this youth theatre was at the National Theatre, like the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain, on the South Bank in London. And so the very first thing I did was playing the lead on what was then the Cotterslow Stage. It's called the Dorfman Theatre now, at the National Theatre. And yeah, it literally happened because that that day, those guys didn't turn up.

• 32:24Speaker 01

  Wow.

• 32:25Conan O'Brien?

  If I had been one of those guys, I would have suspected that you messed with the tube.

• 32:30Speaker 02

  I did. I did mess with the tube.

• 32:31Conan O'Brien?

  You did.

• 32:32Speaker 02

  I absolutely did.

• 32:33Conan O'Brien?

  That's how my mind works. You know, you're down there, you're like switching the tracks.

• 32:38Speaker 02

  Yeah, that was me. That was me.

• 32:40Conan O'Brien?

  I knew a guy.

• 32:45Conan O'Brien?

  You know, I I've always noticed that it's not a rule, but it happens about 95% of the time, that people from the United Kingdom, actors, are also sort of charming storytellers. And I have not found that to be true in other places, where someone can be a terrific actor, but it's almost like it's something in the water or it's something that's prized and respected that in in Britain, you know, Scotland, Wales, where you have to be, or Ireland as well.

• 33:20Conan O'Brien?

  You must be a good actor, but you must also be a raconteur. And it's almost like that is taught when I know it's not. But I I think it's very much the rule.

• 33:29Speaker 02

  It it actually is taught because you're around these actors who there is a tradition of it, actually. And as a young actor, the what you're looking for is to sit at the feet of a Judi Dench. Or as I did and with Judi Dench or Alan Bates or Ray Fiennes or Kenneth Branagh. You know, these are, these are people I literally had the opportunity to work with. Like I did a film called As You Like It with Kenneth Branagh. I did a show with with Judi Dench. I did a show with Alan Bates. I I worked with actors who were awe inspiring when you were on stage with them. They had mastered the craft.

• 34:09Speaker 02

  And and what I mean by that is when you get on the Royal Shakespeare Theatre stage in front of, I think that stage is about a hundred and, well, one thousand five hundred people. Or or at the, on the Olivier, which I think is maybe twelve hundred people. When you see someone be nervous in the wings, someone who you watched in the rehearsal room, playing with language like Shakespeare, that is four to five times our vocabulary, and finding their way to the truth of it, finding their way to the meaning of it, and finding different interpretation time and time again. And then watching them nervous in the wings before they go on and become supernatural on that stage.

• 34:54Speaker 02

  When you're around that enough, it it gets on you. And then when you're with them after the fact and they're talking about when they were on stage with Gilgood or Olivier. Because there is something, and this is more in the British tradition, there is, it is lauded. It is something that is celebrated. And it is a tradition that is is very much outside of financial remuneration. The gift is the doing of it. And I think that in and of itself creates this aura of camaraderie and being part of a tradition that has been ongoing.

• 35:36Speaker 02

  And so there is something, and I sound so pretentious saying this, but there is something celestial about. I remember being.

• 35:45Speaker 02

  Twenty one, twenty two, being in a rehearsal room with a guy who had been on stage with Olivier. And just going, okay, just soak it all in. And what I mean is it gets on you and what you what then happens is as you climb the ranks of being a spare carrier, playing Decratis, like I did in Anthony and Cleopatra with my seven lines. And then within about three years, I was playing Henry the sixth.

• 36:13Conan O'Brien?

  Right.

• 36:14Speaker 02

  In that same theater.

• 36:15Conan O'Brien?

  So you go from halt, who goes there to.

• 36:18Speaker 02

  Literally.

• 36:18Conan O'Brien?

  Giving these incredible soliloquies.

• 36:22Speaker 02

  Speeches that you will never conquer.

• 36:25Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 36:25Speaker 02

  Every night is uh is is uh uh uh basically an exercise in humility, because it will kick your butt every night. It's why that playwright, especially Shakespeare, has lasted over four hundred years. He tapped into humanity in a way that I don't think any writer has done before and ever will. And so it's the Everest for actors. And so when you have that and then you combine it with an audience. And what I mean by celestial is that there is this vibration where they start telling you if, and you must have this as a comedian, they start telling you if you're telling the truth. And the moment there is fracture in that, you feel it instantaneously.

• 37:06Speaker 02

  And and if you do that night after night after night after night, it becomes muscle memory.

• 37:12Conan O'Brien?

  We've all been around each other since we crawled out of the sea. Uh, and we pick up on this, you could call it electrical. You could say there's a biochemical reason for it, or it's just mystical and you don't want to think about it too much. But we know when someone's tapped into the truth.

• 37:28Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 37:29Conan O'Brien?

  It's why I think juries, you know, they can make mistakes, but overall they say, let's get a bunch of, let's get a bunch of your peers and have them listen and together they'll have an intel, a common intelligence.

• 37:40Speaker 02

  You've said it, it's it's truth, I think, is the thing. And and it's why anyone's favorite actors have probably at some point been on the stage. I truly believe that because you you have had the opportunity to. Be around the truth enough that that is now, as I say, muscle memory that becomes applicable to film work, where everything is artifice. You know, it's a room like this with contraptions like this and it's a and you're supposed to be in love with someone you met that morning. And it is it is an exercise in artifice. But if you know what it feels like to tell the truth under those circumstances you're describing, you sort of have more access to it.

• 38:23Conan O'Brien?

  I just think, I mean, I'm thinking about um the people that you've worked with, not just on the stage uh in in London, but in your film work, you've worked with giants in the industry and um. You know, you said that you worked with Dame Judi Dench. I don't believe I've met her. Someone now will come up with a video of me interviewing her. I'm serious. I this happens to me all the time where someone will pass and I'll say, a shame I never met them. And someone will show me seven videos of me talking to them over a fifteen year period.

• 38:58Speaker 02

  Is this what I have to look forward to?

• 39:01Conan O'Brien?

  Oh, the minute you the minute you go, I'll be like, I would love to meet.

• 39:07Speaker 02

  Nineteen ninety eight.

• 39:08Conan O'Brien?

  Damn it. All right. Well, she made no impression. I've always heard, I mean, she's spectacular, but I've also heard that she's just lovely, that she's just a lovely person.

• 39:17Speaker 02

  So lovely.

• 39:18Conan O'Brien?

  And funny.

• 39:19Speaker 02

  Very, very funny. But what was so surprising about her is she said, I can't bear to watch myself. Yeah, she's one of those actors.

• 39:29Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 39:29Speaker 02

  Who can't you couldn't bear to watch her. But the thing that was really surprising is she said, I learn my lines and I try to forget them. So that I am completely fresh and present in the scene. And I thought, I do how how do you trick yourself into like? And I was in a scene with her and I saw this thing that is happening between you and I right now.

• 39:55Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 39:55Speaker 02

  Whereby you don't know what I'm gonna say next. And it is affecting your brain chemistry in a way whereby it's precipitating.

• 40:03Conan O'Brien?

  It's a real hitting the ball back and forth.

• 40:06Speaker 02

  Correct.

• 40:07Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 40:07Speaker 02

  Correct. And she has maintained the discipline of being able to hold it close enough, but hold it lightly enough that she's constantly alive. And I just thought, whoa, that is so brave and why she's so brilliant.

• 40:21Conan O'Brien?

  Now, you do hold a distinction of being slapped by Oprah.

• 40:26Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 40:28Conan O'Brien?

  I think we should talk about that.

• 40:30Speaker 02

  My claim to fame, guys.

• 40:33Conan O'Brien?

  I mean, as part of a scene, I'd been slapped by Oprah just in life.

• 40:37Speaker 02

  Just for existing.

• 40:38Conan O'Brien?

  No, I tried to cut, it was an eight items or less line. And I tried to cut in front of her.

• 40:44Speaker 02

  That'll do it.

• 40:45Conan O'Brien?

  And this was up near Santa Barbara, and man, she packs a wallop. But I had it coming, mad respect, but what was that like?

• 40:53Speaker 02

  Well, you know what, this was doing a film called The Butler.

• 40:56Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 40:57Speaker 02

  And we were doing this scene, and it was a scene, and it was a tough scene because Sidney Poitier is literally my hero.

• 41:05Speaker 02

  And it was a scene where my character was being very, shall we say, uncouth about Sidney Poitier. And as a result, she quite rightly decides to give me what for. Now, of course, in the film, she's supposed to slap her son. In the world of like cameras, action, all of that, don't actually slap me.

• 41:32Speaker 02

  Now, with each take, she got more and more into it.

• 41:38Conan O'Brien?

  And she has probably reserves of anger about things in her life that she wants to get out.

• 41:43Speaker 02

  I could feel her dragging up things that were helping her tell the truth. And what was happening is, you know, so initially, you know, I couldn't feel any wind as she went. And it started like, I was like, each time she does this. So I could feel she was getting ever closer each and every time. And the very last time, she got the end of my nose.

• 42:12Conan O'Brien?

  Oh, okay.

• 42:13Speaker 02

  It wasn't a full slap, but it was the moment where I went, I think we got it. I think we got it, guys.

• 42:19Conan O'Brien?

  I'm just gonna mention, I'm just gonna mention, I don't know if this occurred to you, she has deep pockets. There's a lot of money there.

• 42:25Speaker 02

  So I've heard.

• 42:26Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, and you could say, my nose, I've never, I don't think I can act again. I use the tip of my nose a lot. You know, and then she's living at the Motel 6 and you're living in her house.

• 42:38Speaker 02

  This is where you go. You go straight for the lawsuit.

• 42:41Conan O'Brien?

  This is America. This is America and that's all we do is sue the shit out of each other.

• 42:47Speaker 02

  If only I'd met you sooner, damn it.

• 42:49Speaker 01

  All the billboards. You can call Sweet James.

• 42:53Conan O'Brien?

  Sweet James. Yeah, that's the guy.

• 42:55Speaker 02

  That's what that is.

• 42:56Conan O'Brien?

  That is. Oh, his billboards are everywhere. Sweet James.

• 42:58Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 43:00Conan O'Brien?

  It was funny you mention that because we did something else. The lovely Sophie Turner was gonna be on our show. And I've always had a good time talking with her and she was coming on and I read the notes and they said she might wanna try something where she, it involves her lightly slapping you and I told her just before the show, so this is really on me. I said, if those things are gonna work, you really have to go for it. So I told her, you should, if it's gonna work, you have to really go for it. You can't kinda half do it.

• 43:32Speaker 02

  Right.

• 43:33Conan O'Brien?

  So, um, and I'm not thinking. So we get to that part of the show and it's on tape, but I'm standing up and, and Sophie just lets me have it. She's a very strong woman.

• 43:45Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 43:45Speaker 03

  You took a shot of tequila first.

• 43:47Conan O'Brien?

  I took a shot of tequila first and then she hit me and you can see I'm just, I went to a different place for a while.

• 43:54Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 43:54Conan O'Brien?

  For a while. I've traveled through time. I met many famous people. Uh, and then I came back, all in an instant, but, um,

• 44:02Speaker 02

  But give me some context here. Was it for a bit?

• 44:04Speaker 03

  It was a game. I think she called it tequila slaps.

• 44:07Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 44:08Conan O'Brien?

  But I don't know how it's a game. Cause it just involves me having some tequila and then her punching the shit out of me.

• 44:13Speaker 03

  Yeah, you just take a shot of tequila and the person just slaps you and that's it.

• 44:17Conan O'Brien?

  What a fun game.

• 44:19Speaker 03

  And she left the bottle.

• 44:20Conan O'Brien?

  I agree. Not only did I agree to it, I, I saw it in the notes and I said, oh, and if you're gonna, if we do get to that, I like to keep it kinda loose out there. I said, if we do get to that and it starts to happen, if you do that, it's not gonna work. You have to let me have it and God bless her.

• 44:34Speaker 01

  Yeah, she did.

• 44:35Conan O'Brien?

  She was like, all right. He told me and, um, yeah, so.

• 44:39Speaker 02

  Is this because you wanted to sue her? Is this why you?

• 44:43Conan O'Brien?

  That was the plan. Unfortunately, she had.

• 44:46Speaker 02

  I wondered why I read she's destitute now.

• 44:54Conan O'Brien?

  The, uh, no, it's, uh, it was, it, it, it is something to be in that moment where you're hit, which doesn't happen. Were you ever punched at all as a kid? Or were you ever in a fight?

• 45:05Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah, I went to boarding school in Nigeria and I remember getting into a few, a few fights. It is, it, nothing, until you experience being punched in the face.

• 45:17Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 45:17Speaker 02

  Nothing can prepare, the ringing.

• 45:19Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 45:20Speaker 02

  The, the, the flash of white. You see, uh, you know, you're saying yep, yep, like you've been punched.

• 45:26Conan O'Brien?

  Oh, I was, yeah, I was, I was, uh, yeah, punched really hard in the face.

• 45:30Speaker 02

  Oh, really?

• 45:32Conan O'Brien?

  It was a mugging.

• 45:32Speaker 02

  By Sophie Turner?

• 45:34Speaker 03

  It's always Sophie Turner?

• 45:36Speaker 02

  What, what happened?

• 45:40Conan O'Brien?

  It was, again, it was Sophie Turner. And she was robbing me. Two years after she was on the show. And I had sued her into destitution. And she said, I want my money back.

• 45:52Speaker 03

  She's still carrying tequila.

• 45:53Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 45:53Speaker 02

  Yeah, you kind of deserved it then.

• 45:54Conan O'Brien?

  No, uh, it was, uh, I think I was 18 and I was walking around the north end of Boston and, uh, some kids wanted money and.

• 46:02Speaker 02

  Oh, boy.

• 46:02Conan O'Brien?

  I, I said, no, and they said, why not? I said, I don't feel like it. And just as I said, like it, as I hit the T, I saw all the white.

• 46:11Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 46:11Conan O'Brien?

  And, um, yeah.

• 46:12Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 46:13Conan O'Brien?

  Then they had to rebuild my nose.

• 46:15Speaker 02

  Did you get, did you get that? The blood, when you suddenly, you, your, your own blood goes down your throat?

• 46:21Conan O'Brien?

  Oh, I had the whole thing.

• 46:22Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 46:23Conan O'Brien?

  I think I was like a sprinkler. I think you had a sprinkler system, it's just, uh, no, it's standing dark now. I was fine. I bear no emotional wounds.

• 46:31Speaker 02

  Right.

• 46:32Conan O'Brien?

  Said the guy who's clearly packed with emotional wounds. But what I did remember is they had to reshape my nose and I, and I had the whole black eyes and I was bandaged up for a while. And I'd be, there were bars in the neighborhood where I lived and I'd be walking home from, you know, to, to my house. And guy standing in the doorways of bars, I always thought this was, you know, something you just see in movies, but they, two or one, would all step out and go, how's the other guy look?

• 46:59Speaker 02

  Wow.

• 47:00Conan O'Brien?

  And I'd say, the other guy looks just fine.

• 47:07Speaker 01

  Not a scratch.

• 47:08Conan O'Brien?

  No, he looks, he's got the dewiest skin.

• 47:15Conan O'Brien?

  He's, you know, just, I mean, he looks better than he did before.

• 47:26Conan O'Brien?

  You know, winning an award, that's a big achievement, right?

• 47:29Speaker 01

  Yeah, I love awards.

• 47:29Conan O'Brien?

  Every now and then in life, maybe something nice like that comes your way. Winning them consistently is almost impossible. It just doesn't happen, you know? Well, guess what? Winning five times in six years? You know what that sounds like to me? Sustained excellence.

• 47:43Speaker 01

  Nice.

• 47:44Conan O'Brien?

  Hyundai has done just that, earning the title of America's best SUV brand for 2026 from US News and World Report. You are a very happy Hyundai driver.

• 47:52Speaker 01

  I drive a Hyundai Palisade and I love my car. I love it. I love driving it around.

• 47:57Conan O'Brien?

  I've been tooling around in an Ioniq 5 N, which I love. Beautiful car. Well, listen, whether you need an SUV for everyday life, your next big adventure, or extra room for family and friends, Hyundai has an option for you. The Tucson Hybrid is loaded with technology and built for everyday life. The Santa Fe Hybrid's fully capable and ready for adventure. The Palisade, that's yours, right?

• 48:16Speaker 01

  Hello!

• 48:17Conan O'Brien?

  They're gonna rename that the Sona. The Palisade Hybrid, yeah, delivers premium capability and class-leading interior space. With available, I have this memorized, H-Track all-wheel drive, up to an EPA-estimated 619 miles of range on vehicles like the Palisade Hybrid and Hyundai's industry-leading warranty. It's easy to see why Hyundai continues to deliver the quality, innovation, technology, and value drivers expect from an award-winning brand. View US News Best Cars at cars.usnews.com and call 562-314-4603 for complete details.

• 48:51Conan O'Brien?

  Ever invest in something that seemed incredible at first but didn't live up to the hype?

• 48:56Speaker 01

  Yeah, like all the time.

• 48:57Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, I did that with an all-potato restaurant.

• 48:59Speaker 01

  Oh, no.

• 49:03Conan O'Brien?

  Marketers know that feeling. They optimize for the numbers that look great, like impressions, but then they don't see revenue. You know what I'm talking about, don't you, Sonny?

• 49:12Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah, all the time.

• 49:12Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, LinkedIn has a word for that: bullspend.

• 49:15Speaker 01

  Bullspend.

• 49:16Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, instead, you can get the highest ROAS of major ad networks with LinkedIn ads. Cut the bullspend. Advertise on LinkedIn. Spend $250 and get a $250 credit. Go to LinkedIn.com/Conan. Terms apply.

• 49:36Conan O'Brien?

  So what are some of the things in life that really get you down?

• 49:38Speaker 01

  Uh, driving?

• 49:39Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 49:40Speaker 01

  That's the first thing that popped in my head.

• 49:42Conan O'Brien?

  No, but I've seen you drive and it's true. I'm always picking mailboxes out of your grill.

• 49:47Conan O'Brien?

  You're a creative driver. Uh, look, let's face it. Just living on earth can be a lot, right?

• 49:52Speaker 01

  It can.

• 49:53Conan O'Brien?

  I mean, oy vey, it's a lot.

• 49:55Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 49:55Conan O'Brien?

  There's gravity, there's mosquitoes, there's this... You know that they say the sun is going to, at some point, go supernova and incinerate the earth, probably in five billion years?

• 50:03Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 50:04Conan O'Brien?

  But watch your diet, we might be sticking around for that.

• 50:07Speaker 01

  Oh, man.

• 50:07Conan O'Brien?

  So cosmically speaking, you've earned a break.

• 50:09Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 50:10Conan O'Brien?

  And you know where this is going? I think you do.

• 50:11Speaker 01

  No.

• 50:12Conan O'Brien?

  Pluto TV.

• 50:13Speaker 01

  Oh, right, of course.

• 50:14Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, to escape all of these hassles in life, you gotta get Pluto TV. Turn off all your earthly problems and turn on the movies and shows you already love. You've seen them, but you want to see them again. They're old friends.

• 50:24Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 50:25Conan O'Brien?

  Anchorman, The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Dirty Dancing, Alias, X-Files. Pluto TV is completely free.

• 50:31Speaker 01

  Ooh.

• 50:31Conan O'Brien?

  These streamers, all these things cost so much money these days. And I won't mention that when I do an ad for them, but...

• 50:38Conan O'Brien?

  No subscription, no fees, zero dollars. And as any mathematician will tell you, zero is one of the most profound numbers ever conceived. I was thinking about that this morning.

• 50:46Speaker 01

  Wow, that's profound.

• 50:47Conan O'Brien?

  I really wasn't. The best thing on TV are free. Escape to Pluto TV, stream now, pay never.

• 50:59Conan O'Brien?

  Well, I want to congratulate you because I watched your film, Newborn.

• 51:03Speaker 02

  Oh.

• 51:03Conan O'Brien?

  Uh, and I very much enjoyed it. And it was not what I expected, which is rare. Usually when I watch a movie, I think, "Oh, I can see where this is going."

• 51:12Speaker 02

  Hmm.

• 51:13Conan O'Brien?

  And I was, uh, completely surprised by how this unfolded. It's a very powerful movie.

• 51:21Speaker 02

  Thank you.

• 51:21Conan O'Brien?

  And you... Am I right? This movie was made a while... Was it made a while ago? When was the movie made?

• 51:26Speaker 02

  Yeah. It was made, it was made a little while ago. And it was one of those... The alchemy of making movies, man. It's, uh, we made it with a company that went into insolvency. And so we had to get the film back and, you know, all that. And then there was a writer's strike and all this stuff. And before we're we're we're now uh getting the movie out. But weirdly, I I've had so many instances like this, like Selma took seven years to get.

• 51:53Conan O'Brien?

  Is that true?

• 51:54Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, from from when I first auditioned for it to.

• 51:58Conan O'Brien?

  And it's amazing too, when you see the finished product, you think, well, this was obvious.

• 52:03Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 52:03Conan O'Brien?

  And it wasn't. I mean, if you, you know, when you walk out of the theater after seeing Selma, if someone said to you, well, that took seven years. From beginning to you think, well, that, no, this just looks like a slam dunk.

• 52:14Speaker 02

  Right, exactly. And it was the opposite. I mean, I I watched five directors come and go before it ended up being Ava DuVernay. I watched that film go from Lyndon Johnson being the central character to it finally being. Uh, Dr. King, as it always should have been. And and to your point, you know, I truly believe. These things, I I, cause I I'm a big believer in the power of storytelling. And I do think often the ones that. Really go on to be impactful, they they sometimes take time to come to fruition.

• 52:47Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 52:47Speaker 02

  Uh, in the right way. And and what happened with Newborn is that through the course of this protracted. Journey to the now that we're in, we got to go back and do reshoots and and and really analyze what it is we wanted to do with the film. Cause the film is about my character, Chris Newborn, who endures seven years of solitary confinement. Um, and is dealing with the the the detrimental effects of that mentally and is trying to reconnect with his family. After coming out with his wife and his and his son. And that's very delicate, you know, because I talked to um a few people who had dealt with that reality. Specifically, a guy called Richard Rosario, who had been wrongfully incarcerated for twenty years, seven of which were in solitary confinement.

• 53:32Speaker 02

  And the effects of it, I mean, after thirteen days, studies have shown you're never the same again. Because it's twenty three hours a day in a nine by six cell with fluorescent lights on all the time. And what that does to the mind, the psyche, the soul is is it's torture.

• 53:52Conan O'Brien?

  What is the possible reason that lights would have to be on? All the time, other than to torture you. There's no rehabilitative effect to having lights on all the time.

• 54:03Speaker 02

  It is the opposite of rehabilitation, you know, and that's the point. It is, it is

• 54:08Conan O'Brien?

  punitive.

• 54:08Speaker 02

  It is purely punitive. And so it's the height of punishment. Anything and everything to make your life uncomfortable is what solitary confinement is. And you say it perfectly there. It is the opposite of rehabilitation, which supposedly is what we're supposed to be doing with prisons. But what people don't know is that eighty thousand people, men, women, and children are in solitary confinement today in America.

• 54:33Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 54:34Speaker 02

  Um, and so in order to tell this story in a way that wasn't just dark and challenging and traumatic, we chose to see what life was like for this man post

• 54:47Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 54:47Speaker 02

  the incarceration and how he goes on a journey to trying to reconnect with his family while dealing with his trauma. So it's a psychological thriller, but you know, it's, it's, that's wrapped around a love story. You know, this guy trying to get back to his wife, trying to get back to his son.

• 55:04Conan O'Brien?

  I thought of this analogy, uh, which is they've, it was proven long ago that if, I, I think they found this out at the end of World War Two, and soldiers were liberating some of the concentration camps, that the first instinct is to give all these people who are malnourished, tons of food,

• 55:21Speaker 02

  Mmm.

• 55:22Conan O'Brien?

  which can kill them.

• 55:23Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 55:23Conan O'Brien?

  Because their bodies have been living with almost no food for years at a time, and you need to start very slowly and then slowly raise the calorie count

• 55:34Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 55:34Conan O'Brien?

  in order for people, that's, this movie to me, did a very good job of showing me that if someone's been in solitary confinement for seven years, and then they're out and they're free, and they're allowed to be out in the world and walking down the street and being outside, it's overload.

• 55:52Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 55:53Conan O'Brien?

  It's absolute sensory overload and traumatic.

• 55:57Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 55:58Conan O'Brien?

  And so things that we think of as This would be lovely. I'd love to be with my wife and my son at a cabin in the woods, wandering around this beautiful countryside. What a lovely time. That's horrifying.

• 56:12Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 56:12Conan O'Brien?

  And that came across really thoroughly in the movie. And I thought, this is this is a story you haven't seen before.

• 56:18Speaker 02

  Right.

• 56:19Conan O'Brien?

  Where someone's in an environment that I would love.

• 56:22Speaker 02

  Right.

• 56:22Conan O'Brien?

  And to them, it's a nightmare.

• 56:25Speaker 02

  Well, so perfectly put there, Conan, because it's it's also about the things we take for granted. And how desperately as human beings, we need connection. Like, human beings are designed for connection. And the ultimate way you dehumanize someone is to extricate them from human connection. I mean, we all, to a certain extent, felt that during the pandemic. And that was one of the most debilitating things, is this feeling of a lack of connection to other people. But, you know, that's exactly it. Him trying to reconnect, having been denied connection for for so long with the very people that essentially their existence is what kept him going.

• 57:06Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 57:06Speaker 02

  So he wants nothing more than to reconnect with his wife. His son has become nonverbal because of some of the trauma he sees in his mother due to what has happened to his father. So, you know, all of that is happening. And you can't tell what's in his mind and, you know, what's perceived and what is real. And that's where the psychological thriller aspect comes in.

• 57:29Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 57:29Speaker 02

  But, you know, what we also hoped to do is is to tap into how we can all relate to feelings of isolation, whether it's loneliness, whether it's, you know, in your own head, whether it's, you know, childhood trauma, whatever that may be. And what is the path to healing for that? I believe it's love. And, you know, Richard Rosario, the extraordinary thing, his wife stuck by him for the 20 years he was incarcerated. And her name is Minerva. And and it's extraordinary to see him now, 10 years after he's he's been released, still dealing with a lot of what he dealt with. But it is extraordinary to see how

• 58:09Speaker 02

  love in relation to that thing you talk about of how you slowly bring someone back as opposed to just giving them a full meal has sort of got this guy to a place where, you know, he can now stand up in front of people and talk about his experience.

• 58:23Conan O'Brien?

  You know, I was watching the film and your performance is extraordinary as your performances always are. And then I was thinking about your quote accident getting into acting. You go to the acting class because you you have a crush on this girl and you just want to tag along. And I I look at I think, wait, something isn't right here because someone who can act at that level must know when they're a kid, they have this inside of them. That could not have been a complete surprise to you.

• 58:54Speaker 02

  It was.

• 58:54Conan O'Brien?

  Really?

• 58:55Speaker 02

  It was. Um, but and and this is where, gosh, if as especially as an artist, if there is someone who sees in you what you haven't seen in yourself yet, that is that is just the greatest blessing. And often Oprah talks about this. I I've heard a lot of artists, whether they be actors or musicians, that music teacher or that drama teacher or that literature professor or teacher that goes, oh, hold on, you.

• 59:28Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 59:29Speaker 02

  There's something going on here. And I had that in a teacher called Jill Foster, who, you know, I I continued to do drama, but but it was baked into me by my parents that it's not that's not a proper job. That's just not what this is gonna be. And I I idolized my father and so therefore it wasn't gonna be that. But this teacher, who I remember her accosting me outside of a tube station when I was all set to go and do a law degree and saying, David, I wouldn't say this to any of my other students. I think you could do acting professionally.

• 1:00:03Conan O'Brien?

  Wow.

• 1:00:04Speaker 02

  And and I and I and I didn't even know what that entailed. And she went, well, have you considered drama school? I said, I don't know what that is. And she introduced me to what drama schools are and she helped me with my auditions. And that's how I ended up.

• 1:00:17Conan O'Brien?

  Wow.

• 1:00:18Speaker 02

  Getting a scholarship to go to Lambda. And, um, you know, the the full circle of this, because within the last month, I went to see my son at the drama school I went to.

• 1:00:32Speaker 02

  Playing in an adaptation of the play that I met my wife.

• 1:00:37Conan O'Brien?

  That's crazy.

• 1:00:38Speaker 02

  Doing. Um, and I, it made me think all the way back to Jill Foster. That what she gave to me by way of advocacy is now having a generational impact. Not just for actors I will never meet, my own son. Um, and you know, when I went to Lambda, I was the only black student of three hundred students at that drama school. I went to see my son in his play and I've graduated twenty seven years ago and I now go and talk at Lambda every now and again. And a decent portion of the school is people of color from all walks of life, from all over the world. There's been some really great work done.

• 1:01:22Speaker 02

  And when I say to those students, when I say to my own son, I, I cannot believe what I'm seeing in relation to what my experience was. They have no real connection to what I'm saying. And I, and I, and I find myself thinking, that's exactly what you want. You want them to not be able to understand what it would feel like to be the only. I want you to take this level of, of diversity for granted.

• 1:01:50Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 1:01:50Speaker 02

  Um, and, and that is the driver for me with storytelling, you know, in terms of the characters I play. I, I'm always to a certain degree, taking roles as a kind of a gift to my twelve year old self. In terms of the things that I didn't see on screen. Sidney Poitier was my hero because he, it, it was like looking at a Martian. In relation to what I saw on British television, in relation to what was possible growing up on a council estate in Islington. And to be in a world now where that is not the experience of my kids. Where they're going, oh, I, I have no one to aspire to in terms of someone who looks like me.

• 1:02:34Speaker 02

  That is a big, big driver for why I do what I do.

• 1:02:39Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, it's really incredible. There's an amazing book. I don't know if you've. If you've come across it ever, but it's called Pictures at a Revolution. And it's about, it's a snapshot of the movie industry in, I think, nineteen sixty seven, when it's all changing. But there's a big part of it that's about Sidney Poitier and how he came along and what a pivotal figure he was. And I think in sixty seven, he's in two big movies and he's in Heat of the Night.

• 1:03:04Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah.

• 1:03:04Conan O'Brien?

  Where he slaps a white man.

• 1:03:06Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:03:06Conan O'Brien?

  Which is still, still, I get chills every time I see that scene.

• 1:03:12Speaker 02

  I know.

• 1:03:12Conan O'Brien?

  He slapped and he slaps the man instantly back.

• 1:03:16Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:03:16Conan O'Brien?

  And it took people's breath away.

• 1:03:19Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:03:19Conan O'Brien?

  In the theater and it still has that power.

• 1:03:22Speaker 02

  Absolutely.

• 1:03:22Conan O'Brien?

  You know, it was like, you can see in some frames of a film, the world changed.

• 1:03:27Speaker 02

  Absolutely.

• 1:03:28Conan O'Brien?

  And I think he's also in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner that year. So those are the two films he does in that one year and, um, but then you think about, okay, he fought those battles and then Denzel Washington had his battles to fight.

• 1:03:42Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:03:42Conan O'Brien?

  That were, you know, different and it just keeps getting passed on and on and on. And you want your son to grow up thinking, what's the problem?

• 1:03:51Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 1:03:52Conan O'Brien?

  What's the big deal?

• 1:03:53Speaker 02

  Absolutely.

• 1:03:53Conan O'Brien?

  That's the gift.

• 1:03:54Speaker 02

  Absolutely, it's the gift. And what's great about that story you tell, anyone who knows Sidney Poitier's body of work always thinks he won the Oscar for In the Heat of the Night. Because of the impact.

• 1:04:09Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 1:04:09Speaker 02

  Of that slap and that role and how groundbreaking it was. And he wasn't even nominated for that. Neither was he nominated for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. He won for Lilies of the Field.

• 1:04:23Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 1:04:24Speaker 02

  Um, and earlier, yeah, earlier. And for a role where he was being nice to white nuns.

• 1:04:31Conan O'Brien?

  Mm hmm.

• 1:04:31Speaker 02

  And that was what was deemed permissible.

• 1:04:36Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 1:04:36Speaker 02

  For him back then. It was deeply controversial to, in one year, you're gonna slap a white man and then fall in love with a white woman.

• 1:04:46Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 1:04:46Speaker 02

  On our screens with us having given you an Oscar? Oh, no.

• 1:04:50Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 1:04:51Speaker 02

  Oh, no. And, you know, this is the thing about, I've heard it said, it's not about any given role. It's about a body of work. And that body of work is the thing that someone like me now takes for granted. I look at Sidney Poitier and I go, wow. But when you read about him, I met him and it was just. Oh my gosh, I can barely believe it actually happened. And he, I remember Oprah introducing me to him and she said, oh yeah, David's gonna play Martin Luther King. And his eyes lit up and I just thought, okay, just be present, just be present, just soak it up, soak it up. This is really happening. Don't say anything stupid, just, you know.

• 1:05:29Conan O'Brien?

  But you were saying that out loud.

• 1:05:30Speaker 02

  I was, I was, I was.

• 1:05:35Conan O'Brien?

  It was Oprah, what's wrong with this idiot?

• 1:05:37Speaker 02

  I was gonna get him out of my presence.

• 1:05:42Speaker 02

  But, you know, as you say, you know, that's, that's, that's what you want, you know, is to, I, look, I think at its height, storytelling, and this is what I tried to do with Newborn, that was an incredibly uncomfortable role. To play, my dad passed away on the first day of filming. Um, he was dealing with colon cancer and, you know, I, I, I had considered not taking the role. I said to him, look daddy, I, I, I, I just can't leave you. We were, we were shooting in Canada. And, and he was, no, no, you must go. You must go. This is what you're here, this is what you're on this earth to do.

• 1:06:22Speaker 02

  You must go. And this is from my dad who originally was so against.

• 1:06:28Conan O'Brien?

  Against it, yeah.

• 1:06:29Speaker 02

  Against what I, I, I wanted to do as a vocation, as a profession to, that was his, his last gesture.

• 1:06:37Conan O'Brien?

  Well, what a, I mean, what a gift that your dad got to see it all happen. And as much, you know, as much as we'd still like these people to be here, I always think about the fact that, well, my parents got to see plenty. They got to see plenty and they got to know that it wouldn't have happened if it weren't for them. So, that's, and it, that's a gift that just keeps on giving.

• 1:07:04Speaker 02

  It's huge. It's the only reason I, I went and, and I, and I did it. But I, I watched Newborn now and I can see, I can see, I'm, I'm now removed from it because I've gone through my, or I'm in the middle of my process of healing from the loss. Of my dad, but I can see the price. You know, I still carry guilt about, you know, going off and doing this, this movie, even though I, I, I felt very passionate about doing it. My dad insisted I go and do it. But, you know, at its height, I, I do think these stories cost, you know, to hold up a mirror to humanity, especially when it's, humanity's going through these very challenging things.

• 1:07:44Speaker 02

  But it's, it's just, it's the greatest thing in, in the world to, to sort of, in service of humanity, kind of try and show us who we are.

• 1:07:54Conan O'Brien?

  Well, I always go back to, it's a crazy world. Um, it's always been a crazy world. And there are bad things happening and bad things have always been happening. And everyone just has to try and be, uh, do their work well. And, um, and be a good citizen, whatever that mean, be a good person.

• 1:08:13Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:08:13Conan O'Brien?

  Um, and so, because sometimes that's all you can do. Everything is so big, but I think this is a tragic story because I think you would have made an amazing lawyer.

• 1:08:27Conan O'Brien?

  We have a lot, David, we have many good actors.

• 1:08:32Conan O'Brien?

  But to find a really good lawyer.

• 1:08:35Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:08:36Conan O'Brien?

  It's hard, right?

• 1:08:37Speaker 01

  He could have been the next Sweet James.

• 1:08:39Conan O'Brien?

  You could have been Sweet James. Sweet James and his, his new protege, David.

• 1:08:46Speaker 02

  Darn it, all those billboards I could have been on.

• 1:08:49Conan O'Brien?

  You could have had so many billboards, but whatever, keep fucking around with acting.

• 1:08:55Conan O'Brien?

  Well, the movie's newborn. I, uh, I loved it and I am just enthralled by you. You're such an amazing person to talk to. And it's like a tonic when you come by. I always, I always feel good after you've been here because you're delightfully funny and insightful and just lovely across the board. So I will see you at the wedding.

• 1:09:21Conan O'Brien?

  You know what this funny thing is? He thinks I'm kidding.

• 1:09:23Speaker 02

  I know.

• 1:09:24Conan O'Brien?

  It's gonna be like The Graduate where this ceremony is happening.

• 1:09:32Conan O'Brien?

  Can't wait to do it. All right. Thank you, sir.

• 1:09:35Speaker 02

  Thank you. This is great.

• 1:09:39Speaker 06

  Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend with Conan O'Brien, Sona Mafassian and Matt Gourley. Produced by me, Matt Gourley. Executive produced by Adam Sachs, Jeff Ross and Nick Liao. Theme song by The White Stripes. Incidental music by Jimmy Vivino. Take it away, Jimmy.

• 1:09:59Speaker 06

  Our supervising producer is Aaron Blair and our associate talent producer is Jennifer Samples. Engineering and mixing by Eduardo Perez and Brendan Burns. Additional production support by Mars Melnick. Talent booking by Paula Davis, Gina Batista and Britt Kahn. You can rate and review this show on Apple Podcasts and you might find your review read on a future episode. Got a question for Conan? Call the Team Coco hotline at 669-587-2847 and leave a message. It too could be featured on a future episode. You can also get three free months of SiriusXM when you sign up at siriusxm.com/conan. And if you haven't already, please subscribe to Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend wherever fine podcasts are downloaded.

• 1:10:48Speaker 06

  Hey, that's me, Teddy Swims. You hear that? That's life. So go grab it. Grab your old friends, grab new friends, grab a White Claw. Grab flavor for everyone in your group. Grab music, laughter and moments you'll never forget. You'll never regret it. Oh, hey, man. Grab new friends, grab old friends, grab life. By the Claw. White Claw. Please drink responsibly. White Claw Celta Works, Chicago, Illinois.

• 1:11:19Conan O'Brien?

  Technology can generate salary recommendations in seconds, but building an offer that lands skilled talent, that takes more than just an estimate you came up with. Yeah, you're right. That's where Robert Half's new 2027 Salary Guide can help. That's good. Did we use a salary guide with you, Sona?

• 1:11:35Speaker 01

  Uh, no, but maybe-

• 1:11:36Conan O'Brien?

  For several years, I just gave you groceries. Remember?

• 1:11:38Speaker 01

  I know. Yeah, I remember that. That was not good.

• 1:11:41Conan O'Brien?

  Uh, well, anyway, now you got Robert Half's new 2027 Salary Guide. As a staffing firm placing talent every day, Robert Half combines compensation data with the experience of local recruiters. You can hire with the confidence that comes from experience. The new Robert Half Salary Guide is here. Visit RobertHalf.com/salaryguide.