Be Free, Be Yourself, and Be Crazy with Will Ferrell

Actor, comedian, writer and producer Will Ferrell joins the show for a laugh-out-loud conversation about his upbringing, comedy career, fatherhood, and more. Ferrell opens up about what he was like in high school, the sketches that landed him a spot on Saturday Night Live, and how he and his wife first met. Plus, we hear all about Ferrell’s upcoming Netflix series, The Hawk, which is out July 16th. Have a question you want answered? Write to us at imopod.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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

• 0:00Speaker 00

  Then I did Harry Carey.

• 0:01Craig Robinson?

  Oh, yeah.

• 0:02Speaker 00

  At a play reading, doing a play reading. It was emotionally wrought, like, like Eugene O'Neill type, like, like, "Damn it, Carol. What happened to us?" Like, "Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?" "I thought we still loved each other." "You're breaking my heart. Look at me. Don't turn away. I still have feelings for you."

• 0:37Michelle Obama?

  This episode is brought to you by Chase Home Lending.

• 0:42Craig Robinson?

  Hey, little girl.

• 0:43Michelle Obama?

  Hi, Craig. How are you?

• 0:45Craig Robinson?

  I'm really fine. I'm excited.

• 0:48Michelle Obama?

  That's good. Now, we will caution our listeners, you do have a bit of a cough, an allergy cough.

• 0:53Craig Robinson?

  I have an allergy cough, but we're narrowing down, it could be an air conditioning cough, so.

• 0:58Michelle Obama?

  Oh, thank you.

• 0:59Craig Robinson?

  So I either need a scarf from you. Oh, maybe I'll put my hood on.

• 1:02Michelle Obama?

  Don't do that. Don't do that, because you'll get makeup on your hood.

• 1:07Craig Robinson?

  Oh, that's right.

• 1:07Michelle Obama?

  You've got makeup on your head.

• 1:09Craig Robinson?

  Yeah, I've got makeup on my head.

• 1:10Michelle Obama?

  You're not used to wearing makeup.

• 1:12Craig Robinson?

  You know, I'm not used to it. And, and why don't we give our listeners a little inside baseball?

• 1:18Michelle Obama?

  On what?

• 1:19Craig Robinson?

  On changing when you have makeup on, on my strategy of using.

• 1:23Michelle Obama?

  You know, I think, you know, again, you think it's a new strategy. Women, we've been doing this our whole lives, but please share as if you've discovered air.

• 1:33Craig Robinson?

  So I went home after one of my early tapings in season one, and there was makeup all over my shirts. And my wife, Kelly, said, "Hey, what happened here?" And I was like, "Oh, I was changing my shirt and got makeup on it." She was like, "Oh, let me give you a little, a little hint. Use a shower cap. Put it over your head and face. Take your shirt off. Put it back on."

• 1:56Michelle Obama?

  Wow, Craig, tell us more.

• 1:59Craig Robinson?

  It worked.

• 2:00Michelle Obama?

  Really?

• 2:01Craig Robinson?

  Yes.

• 2:01Michelle Obama?

  I never thought of that.

• 2:03Craig Robinson?

  Unless you're in show business or something, how would you know that?

• 2:06Michelle Obama?

  Being a woman?

• 2:07Craig Robinson?

  Or a woman, but a guy, a guy, you have to know.

• 2:11Michelle Obama?

  Yeah, I know, but that's why I'm saying, see, when men discover something, they talk about it like, I, I just figured this out.

• 2:18Craig Robinson?

  Oh, gosh.

• 2:19Michelle Obama?

  So, yeah, thank you, listeners, some inside baseball and how Craig discovered how to deal with makeup. Craig Robinson, thank you for sharing.

• 2:27Craig Robinson?

  My pleasure, my pleasure.

• 2:30Michelle Obama?

  Well, we've got a fun, fun conversation happening. One of my favorite comedians, one of my favorite people on TV. I will talk about this, but my favorite movie on the planet of all time, the only movie that I watch again and again and again, this man was in, we'll talk about it when he comes on, but I don't, I don't think I've ever told him.

• 2:57Craig Robinson?

  Oh, okay, all right, because I know what it is, but I-

• 2:59Michelle Obama?

  Why don't you introduce our, our guest, Will Ferrell?

• 3:02Craig Robinson?

  All right, Will Ferrell is an acclaimed actor, writer and producer behind some of film's most iconic comedies and a seven-year Saturday Night Live standout, widely regarded as one of the show's greatest cast members. He is also the co-founder of Gloria Sanchez Productions. This summer, he will star in the first scripted comedy series, The Hawk, for Netflix, which you and I both watched the first two episodes and were cracking up, in, in which he plays a fictional golf legend, which, this will be interesting, because I'm not a golfer, as you know.

• 3:42Michelle Obama?

  Okay, let's get him out of here.

• 3:43Craig Robinson?

  Without further ado, Mr. Will Ferrell.

• 3:50Speaker 00

  I am not a golfer. You're a golfer? I am a golfer, I'm actually a golfer, yeah, a little bit. Hi, thank you.

• 3:58Michelle Obama?

  So you're also gonna get a little brother and sister dynamic where there's always just a little edge of arguing underneath.

• 4:04Speaker 00

  Right, okay, yes.

• 4:05Michelle Obama?

  It's just a little edge of, oh, my big brother.

• 4:08Speaker 00

  And by the way, Craig, I did know about the shower cap.

• 4:11Craig Robinson?

  Thank you. Thank you.

• 4:13Michelle Obama?

  Another reason. And why would he know, Craig? Do you know why he would know?

• 4:16Craig Robinson?

  Cause he's in show business.

• 4:17Michelle Obama?

  Exactly.

• 4:18Speaker 00

  Well, no, cause my mother would give us a shower cap every Christmas, a new shower cap. For the reasons you just described.

• 4:26Michelle Obama?

  It's like, honey.

• 4:27Speaker 00

  So she was way ahead of the curve.

• 4:29Craig Robinson?

  She was.

• 4:30Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 4:31Michelle Obama?

  She raised you to be an independent man.

• 4:34Speaker 00

  Right.

• 4:34Michelle Obama?

  Knowing about shower caps.

• 4:35Craig Robinson?

  We haven't met, but we were in the same place together.

• 4:39Speaker 00

  Okay.

• 4:40Craig Robinson?

  At one of the White House parties.

• 4:42Speaker 00

  Right.

• 4:42Craig Robinson?

  And I wanna see if you remember this because I think that you were doing this on purpose, but.

• 4:49Speaker 00

  Uh oh.

• 4:50Craig Robinson?

  My wife was like, uh, no, Izzy? And you were walking around the White House with the straightest of faces, not looking at anyone, like this.

• 5:03Michelle Obama?

  Uh oh.

• 5:06Craig Robinson?

  And I said.

• 5:07Michelle Obama?

  Do you remember that, Will?

• 5:09Speaker 00

  Do you remember doing that? No, I'm trying to, I'm trying to piece it together.

• 5:12Craig Robinson?

  I could never forget it because I know it was you and I have a witness to go along with it. And I was like, he's doing some sort of gag or bit, but it was before I knew what bit was.

• 5:24Speaker 00

  Right.

• 5:25Craig Robinson?

  Now that I'm in show business, I know what the term bit means, so I wouldn't have said bit back then, but that's what I meant. And you had the straight face, you were dressed like you had come to a party.

• 5:37Speaker 00

  Right. But was it not a part, was it not?

• 5:40Craig Robinson?

  It was a, there were like 300 people, you've been to those parties, there were like 300 people. You said not one word to anybody for the time that I saw you. Not one word and everybody's talking, the music's going, and you had the straight face. And I looked over at my wife and I was like, see, this is why this dude is the funniest dude in the world right here.

• 5:59Speaker 00

  I was getting credit for being funny.

• 6:01Michelle Obama?

  And you weren't.

• 6:03Speaker 00

  I know, I was just having a Chauncey Gardner moment.

• 6:07Craig Robinson?

  No way.

• 6:08Speaker 00

  No, I don't know what you're talking about.

• 6:10Craig Robinson?

  Okay.

• 6:11Speaker 00

  I wouldn't, that's fine. I think I was just literally being a nerd.

• 6:17Craig Robinson?

  Okay. Okay.

• 6:19Speaker 00

  Sconced.

• 6:19Craig Robinson?

  Fair enough.

• 6:20Speaker 00

  On the white.

• 6:21Craig Robinson?

  Fair enough.

• 6:22Speaker 00

  Checking out wallpaper.

• 6:23Craig Robinson?

  This makes it even better.

• 6:24Michelle Obama?

  Thank you for being here.

• 6:25Speaker 00

  Oh my God, my pleasure. Thanks for having me. I love what you've done with it.

• 6:30Michelle Obama?

  Done with the place.

• 6:31Speaker 00

  It's wonderful.

• 6:32Michelle Obama?

  Well, yeah, what do you think? I mean, you, you're in this business, you know? What do you think about it? No, no, set design, you know, atmosphere, atmospherics. It's like, does it feel like we're at home at the kitchen table?

• 6:45Speaker 00

  You must be sponsored by Plezi?

• 6:46Michelle Obama?

  Oh, God, I'm glad you pointed that out. That's one of our drinks.

• 6:50Speaker 00

  Tell us the virtues of Plezi.

• 6:51Michelle Obama?

  It's like, yeah, yeah, it's a good drink, hydration drink.

• 6:54Speaker 00

  I hope it is.

• 6:54Michelle Obama?

  Yeah, it's awesome. It's amazing. It's amazing. But it's good to have you here. I was saying that, and my, my team didn't realize this, um, when we were just sitting down, getting ready for you to come, because I don't know if I said that because we were, uh, they were saying that you left Saturday Night Live.

• 7:11Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 7:12Michelle Obama?

  One of the reasons was because you had, you, you, you knew of this project about,

• 7:19Michelle Obama?

  uh, Santa Claus and, you know, you, the idea of elves. Was it sort of, what was that?

• 7:24Speaker 00

  I left, I'd been there seven years and, you know, you, you always, you know, you have to, you have to leave at some point, unless you're Keenan. He's still there.

• 7:36Michelle Obama?

  He doesn't leave.

• 7:37Speaker 00

  And he's literally the only one who could pull it off and still be there. And you'd love seeing him every time.

• 7:42Michelle Obama?

  Yeah.

• 7:42Speaker 00

  Now, short of, short of Keenan, uh, yeah, you, you are thinking about a time of like, when's a, when's a good moment to fly the coop, so to speak? And it just felt like I'd had enough momentum, but it's not like I had a stack of scripts waiting for me. But we were developing this one movie about a human who was raised by elves at the North Pole. And it was, um, it was an amazing concept, but it needed a lot of work. And so we kind of rewrote the whole thing and, uh, but that, it...

• 8:20Speaker 00

  But it's such an interesting thing to have become what it's become.

• 8:27Michelle Obama?

  I know.

• 8:27Speaker 00

  Only because, two weeks of film, I'm sitting in New York in my little tiny trailer.

• 8:34Michelle Obama?

  Mm-hmm.

• 8:34Speaker 00

  Because that was one of my first bigger movies, but it was still a little tiny trailer. Uh, looking in the mirror, dressed as Buddy the Elf in my yellow tights going.

• 8:43Michelle Obama?

  What did I, what was I thinking?

• 8:45Speaker 00

  Bu- literally Buddy. This could be the, this could be it. This could be the end, right here. This is either a home run or a complete strikeout and people are gonna be like, what happened to the guy on SNL?

• 8:57Michelle Obama?

  What was he doing?

• 8:59Speaker 00

  Uh, so I had no idea that we had like lightning in a bottle, but we, we did.

• 9:05Michelle Obama?

  It is my favorite movie of all time. I mean, it really is. I, I don't re-watch movies.

• 9:11Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 9:11Michelle Obama?

  But it, it is hilarious every other second and it is so sweet and.

• 9:18Speaker 00

  Right.

• 9:19Michelle Obama?

  It, it does, does all the things. It presses all the buttons. So whenever I wanna feel better. I, no, literally. And then I make other people watch it with me so that I can say, wait, here comes, oh my God. It's the angry elf, you know?

• 9:34Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 9:34Michelle Obama?

  And so it, it was a, it's a, it is a thing for a reason. And, you know, the level of sweetness and all that. How do you, how do you like, for a character like Buddy? Do you know what, you know, you wanna do with him before you put on that elf costume?

• 9:53Speaker 00

  No.

• 9:54Michelle Obama?

  And those tights?

• 9:55Speaker 00

  Because we shot, we shot, we shot Buddy discovering New York, all the exterior stuff first. We shot two weeks in New York and then the rest is all shot in Vancouver.

• 10:11Speaker 00

  So I had to quickly figure out and the game that we and we kind of figured out at the script level, but that, okay, so what, what, what is the essence of this guy? And I think he has to be the kind of mundane world that we take for granted. He has to think it's the greatest experience ever. And that's when I wrote the joke. I was like, you know, those, those just bodega type coffee shop places that say like, world's best cup of coffee. He literally thinks that's the truth. So that when we burst in like, congratulations, you did it. And then, you know, all the, all the staff looking at me like, what?

• 10:54Speaker 00

  But, you know, you know, don't, don't eat candy when you go. And him discovering the gum and like, I can't resist it. And just like, yeah.

• 11:02Michelle Obama?

  Taking it off.

• 11:03Speaker 00

  But not knowing that a, that a taxicab, the yellow ones won't stop. So just like the wonderment, the naivete. And I was like, oh, just, I'm gonna, I'm gonna lock into that. And just, he's just gonna be, it's gonna be wondrous to him. And, and then I just built upon that. But it was like, it was like, hurry up and figure this guy out.

• 11:27Michelle Obama?

  Cause it's life or death.

• 11:28Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 11:36Speaker 00

  Moving into a new place is always a big moment. And thanks to Chase Home Lending with branches and home lending advisors right in your community. They can help you feel supported all the way home. You know, the home really becomes the foundation for family traditions, milestones and lasting memories. And Mish, what are some of your favorite family traditions that we used to do? You remember when dad used to make peppered steak?

• 12:03Michelle Obama?

  Yeah, that would be the one time he cooked.

• 12:05Speaker 00

  Once a year.

• 12:06Michelle Obama?

  And he would make apple pie. So, you know, and mom wouldn't touch pie.

• 12:11Speaker 00

  Right.

• 12:11Michelle Obama?

  But dad made the apple pie.

• 12:12Speaker 00

  He made apple pie and, but he, he would make the peppered steak once a year. And he'd make apple pie once a year.

• 12:18Michelle Obama?

  He made apple pie a few times a year. But the fact that dad would cook, that became a special milestone. I loved our New Year's Eve tradition where our mom would, instead of having a full dinner, we would stay up until midnight. She would make all these little amazing orders. You know, those little cheese puffs on Ritz crackers and, you know, smoked oysters and fondue. I mean, she would be trying out all of these Betty Crocker little appetizer recipes on us. And it got so popular that our aunts and uncles, who were young at the time, stopped going out for New Year's Eve and came over and hung out with us.

• 13:04Craig Robinson?

  Man, and it just reminds me of a few more traditions. You remember pumpkin carving? Every year we carved pumpkins and every Easter, we decorated eggs.

• 13:14Michelle Obama?

  And hid them.

• 13:15Craig Robinson?

  Yes.

• 13:15Michelle Obama?

  Or mom would.

• 13:16Craig Robinson?

  Mom would hide them.

• 13:17Michelle Obama?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 13:18Craig Robinson?

  So if you're ready to start your own journey, Chase Home Lending is here to help you build a future, create lasting memories, and feel connected to your community all the way home. Visit chase.com/imo to take your first step. Member FDIC, equal housing opportunity.

• 13:44Michelle Obama?

  So the real Will Ferrell.

• 13:46Craig Robinson?

  Right, right here.

• 13:47Michelle Obama?

  Like the guy that, you know, is not a character, you know, is just a man trying to walk around the White House, looking at stuff without people thinking he's doing a bit.

• 13:59Michelle Obama?

  A poor guy.

• 14:00Craig Robinson?

  You don't have to laugh at her. You don't have to laugh at her. You don't. You don't have to laugh.

• 14:05Speaker 00

  I'm still trying to search my mind of what that moment was.

• 14:08Craig Robinson?

  I knew I was gonna like you when I was doing the research and I found out what a terrific athlete you were.

• 14:14Speaker 00

  Yes, thank you.

• 14:15Craig Robinson?

  I had no idea.

• 14:17Speaker 00

  Are you hearing that?

• 14:18Michelle Obama?

  You didn't know he was gonna say that.

• 14:19Speaker 00

  Terrific athlete.

• 14:20Craig Robinson?

  Terrific ath- three sport athlete.

• 14:22Speaker 00

  Four.

• 14:23Craig Robinson?

  Oh.

• 14:24Michelle Obama?

  What did I miss?

• 14:25Speaker 00

  Soccer, baseball, basketball.

• 14:28Craig Robinson?

  What's the fourth?

• 14:29Speaker 00

  Football.

• 14:31Michelle Obama?

  You play, oh, you were kicker. Kicker.

• 14:32Craig Robinson?

  That's right.

• 14:34Michelle Obama?

  I mean, I know, that's why we forgot about it.

• 14:35Craig Robinson?

  Yeah, but you were captain of the basketball team.

• 14:38Speaker 00

  I was, as the sixth man.

• 14:40Craig Robinson?

  Oh, now, you know what that says a lot.

• 14:42Speaker 00

  See, that's real leadership.

• 14:42Craig Robinson?

  Yes, that says a lot, folks.

• 14:44Michelle Obama?

  Okay, tell us more.

• 14:44Craig Robinson?

  Because, usually, your captain is your best player, and rarely is your best player the sixth man. Although, the sixth man gets to take more shots than the starters.

• 14:58Speaker 00

  Guess how much I averaged my senior year?

• 15:00Craig Robinson?

  How much?

• 15:00Speaker 00

  My point, point average.

• 15:03Craig Robinson?

  Thirteen.

• 15:04Speaker 00

  One point two five.

• 15:05Craig Robinson?

  No way.

• 15:05Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 15:05Craig Robinson?

  That makes it even better.

• 15:07Speaker 00

  Yeah, I, I only averaged like, two points a game.

• 15:10Michelle Obama?

  So what was your role?

• 15:10Speaker 00

  Because I figured out, I was, I was defense.

• 15:13Michelle Obama?

  Okay.

• 15:13Speaker 00

  I was rebounding.

• 15:14Michelle Obama?

  Okay.

• 15:15Speaker 00

  I usually guarded their, their better post player.

• 15:18Craig Robinson?

  Okay.

• 15:19Speaker 00

  And I was just unselfish, unselfish player.

• 15:22Craig Robinson?

  Tenacious.

• 15:22Speaker 00

  I could set a mean screen.

• 15:24Michelle Obama?

  Uh huh.

• 15:25Craig Robinson?

  Uh, how, how much did the locker room help your comedy?

• 15:31Speaker 00

  Uh, well, I think all of high school was form, I mean, whether it was the locker room, whether it was the classroom, whether, I, I, I was benefited from a really funny group of friends. Uh, I used, I was, I described myself as a conscientious class clown, because my, my mom's in education, so I like, respected the teachers, but I would like, I'd goof around to a point, if I got the eye, I'd be like, you got it, no problem. I'll shut it down. Keep, keep talking. No, I'm enjoying the lecture. Yeah, no, aren't we?

• 16:08Speaker 00

  So I would like, I would know how to tiptoe up to the line to where the administration, the vice, we would work out bits during the school assembly, where I could make fun of the vice principal, and he was like, hey, let's do that thing, and you make fun of me, and I'll give you a look, and so, and we would, we would do, we would do sketches.

• 16:30Craig Robinson?

  Yeah.

• 16:31Speaker 00

  I'd do, we'd do morning radio announcements that were, so it was already like, the beginnings of...

• 16:38Speaker 00

  You know, this is really fun, but I didn't dare dream yet because I grew up in Intertek. My dad was a musician and I saw how up and down that was.

• 16:51Michelle Obama?

  He just wasn't any musician.

• 16:53Speaker 00

  No, yeah, he played with the Righteous Brothers and toured around, but he had a lot of like piano bars and, you know, cocktail lounges where he'd have a gig for six months and then he's like, gotta find a new gig. I'm like, why? What happened? Like, nothing.

• 17:09Michelle Obama?

  Yeah.

• 17:10Speaker 00

  They're done. And I'm like, I just remember thinking, oh, I'm gonna get a real job.

• 17:16Michelle Obama?

  Yeah.

• 17:16Speaker 00

  I don't know what that is, but I'm gonna carry a briefcase and I'm gonna work in an office.

• 17:20Michelle Obama?

  Did you feel it? Did it feel unstable in the household because of your dad's sort of up and down, in and out?

• 17:29Speaker 00

  It did a little bit. I mean, my folks divorced at a pretty early age. I mean, they did a really good job of kind of co-parenting. But yeah, they tried to make my brother and I feel as kind of middle class as we could. But they were like, if I knew I needed new basketball shoes, we were gonna take all Saturday to comparison shop.

• 17:59Craig Robinson?

  No.

• 18:02Speaker 00

  To where I was like, I think I can go another month, even though there's a hole. My dad would take us to like nine different places. And I thought it was such a drag. I look back on it now and I was like, no, he's teaching us the value of...

• 18:16Craig Robinson?

  Of dollar, yeah.

• 18:17Speaker 00

  Yeah, and really wise in a way, but a bummer when you're 15.

• 18:23Craig Robinson?

  Yeah.

• 18:24Speaker 00

  14, yeah. But yeah, so I saw how, oh, this is very much living hand to mouth. And while my mom was putting herself through school, graduate school, and so yeah, I saw that that was like...

• 18:43Speaker 00

  I want more stability, so, so, and I thought I was gonna be like a sportscaster. I love sports, so I thought the merge, the merge of two things would be, I'd be a talking head on ESPN.

• 18:54Michelle Obama?

  So, um, your, your dinner table that you were growing up in, what did that feel like? Was there funny there? Or did you save the funny for school? Or was your mother also?

• 19:08Speaker 00

  She's very funny.

• 19:08Michelle Obama?

  Were you getting on her nerves too?

• 19:10Speaker 00

  Probably both. She's funny in her own way. My dad, obviously, being an entertainer, he had, my, my mom and dad came from the small, the same small town.

• 19:21Michelle Obama?

  Where was it?

• 19:22Speaker 00

  They'd known each other since the second grade, and Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. So he, she would tell, so he was always the prankster, growing up in school and that sort of thing. So dad was, and my mom had this really sly sense of humor and this and that. So, so, yeah, I think there was always us, my brother and I, putting on little shows in the living room and trying to be funny and being funny amongst our friends. And I think that's like your first comedy crowd, is, are your friends. And then you kind of advance into going to parties, walking around a room, not looking at anyone. No, um, no.

• 20:05Craig Robinson?

  I'll never live this down.

• 20:07Speaker 00

  No, but we would go to, we would go to, we would go to high school parties and mess with other, like, we didn't go to really party. We would just start taking stuff out of the freezer of someone's, and microwaving meat. And like, okay, don't worry.

• 20:22Craig Robinson?

  Oh, no.

• 20:23Speaker 00

  The kid who was throwing the party was like, what are you doing? It was like, well, someone told us to start emptying the freezer. Like, just random, crazy stuff, like, why? Someone told us to defrost all the meat in your freezer. I'm sorry. Were we not supposed to?

• 20:37Craig Robinson?

  Oh, my God.

• 20:38Speaker 00

  And then we would just create havoc and then we'd go to another part. Like, we'd just do the weirdest, dumbest stuff.

• 20:43Michelle Obama?

  How many were in your little?

• 20:45Speaker 00

  Like, four or five, yeah, yeah. And then we were like, that's pretty funny.

• 20:50Speaker 00

  That one, that works. Let's do that. But not, people who didn't know us aren't really laughing. We were just like amusing ourselves and, uh, yeah, just indulging that, that part of your brain.

• 21:02Michelle Obama?

  Well, how were you with the girls being so obnoxious? How'd that work for your dating life?

• 21:08Speaker 00

  I was a late bloomer. No one wants the funny guy, really, yeah.

• 21:13Michelle Obama?

  That comes later.

• 21:14Speaker 00

  That comes later, yeah. But back to team sports. There was something about, like, and I think that's why I loved, when I started kind of exploring comedy, and it started with a little bit of stand-up, and then I found The Groundlings out here in LA, which is a big sketch comedy theater that tons of people would come out of. I loved the form of sketch, I loved the team, and that's what I loved about SNL, that's what I love about movie making, that's what I love about all this stuff, is that you're you're working on a team. And, and I told, I would, I told the writers my first year on the show, because I'd seen

• 21:56Speaker 00

  some of the cast members get offended if their part was too small. And I would pull that right, and go like, I don't care if I have one line. If you need me to deliver a pizza in a sketch.

• 22:09Michelle Obama?

  Yeah.

• 22:09Speaker 00

  Because I'll try to make it funny.

• 22:11Michelle Obama?

  Yeah.

• 22:11Speaker 00

  And, and give me that one line.

• 22:13Michelle Obama?

  Right.

• 22:13Speaker 00

  Give me, if it's off-camera and you need someone just yelling something, I'll figure it out, like, just, and, and, you know, ingratiating yourself in that way. And it was, it was like usually a bonus, just walk into a scene and say one stupid thing and then walk out. I'd either at least make my fellow cast members laugh.

• 22:33Michelle Obama?

  Yeah.

• 22:34Speaker 00

  But, but that team thing, you know.

• 22:38Craig Robinson?

  What, at what point were you like, okay, I'm gonna give this a try?

• 22:42Speaker 00

  It was, I was taking classes at The Groundlings, I was working my way up through, so they have a school that you do all this training, and then they start putting you in, they have like their, their minor league team, which is the Sunday show.

• 22:55Craig Robinson?

  Okay.

• 22:55Speaker 00

  And then you have the main company, which is Friday and Saturday nights, two show, four shows a week. And I was, I was really enjoy, I was kinda, I was like, God, this just feels right. So I went to lunch with my dad and I was like, Dad, I really want to give this a shot. What do you think? And he, excuse me, to this day, he gave me the best showbiz advice ever. He was like, if it was based on talent, I wouldn't, I wouldn't worry about you. You, he's like, I've seen, like, I'm gonna tell you, you've got talent, but there's so much luck.

• 23:34Michelle Obama?

  Yeah.

• 23:36Speaker 00

  And give it a shot, but don't get discouraged if you get down the road and you're like, this is just too hard. You didn't fail.

• 23:44Michelle Obama?

  Yeah.

• 23:44Speaker 00

  You tried.

• 23:45Michelle Obama?

  That's great.

• 23:46Speaker 00

  And just, you're capable to just pivot and do something else and walk. And so even though that's not like a rah rah speech, it took the pressure off succeeding.

• 23:56Michelle Obama?

  Oh, God, yeah.

• 23:57Speaker 00

  And I thought, well, I'm not gonna make it anyway. Let's just have fun.

• 24:00Michelle Obama?

  Yeah.

• 24:00Speaker 00

  And it just allowed me to be loose and there still was, there still was luck, but.

• 24:06Michelle Obama?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 24:07Speaker 00

  You know.

• 24:07Michelle Obama?

  What was the first lucky break for you?

• 24:11Speaker 00

  The first kind of lucky break was I had a week out here in LA where I, I had grown my hair out for some, I was doing like a one act.

• 24:24Craig Robinson?

  Like Pearl, like the Pearl.

• 24:26Speaker 00

  Like the Pearl look during semi-pro.

• 24:28Michelle Obama?

  And Chris saw that and was like, is that his real hair? Is he wearing a wig?

• 24:32Speaker 00

  That's a real, yeah. That's, that's where I can go.

• 24:35Craig Robinson?

  I like that.

• 24:35Michelle Obama?

  See, that's where your real self looks like a bitch again.

• 24:39Craig Robinson?

  Yeah.

• 24:40Speaker 00

  Right. So I had that linked hair for this, this play I was doing.

• 24:45Craig Robinson?

  Okay.

• 24:46Speaker 00

  And I went on, I got three different parts on sitcoms in one week. I booked a Living Single.

• 24:57Michelle Obama?

  Uh huh.

• 24:57Speaker 00

  I booked a Grace Under Fire.

• 25:00Michelle Obama?

  Uh huh.

• 25:01Speaker 00

  And I booked The George Went Show, which was.

• 25:05Michelle Obama?

  Oh, yeah.

• 25:05Speaker 00

  After he left Cheers, he tried to do a show on CBS. And I might have booked another one. Anyway, it was like bam, bam, bam. They were all one line.

• 25:14Michelle Obama?

  Uh huh, yeah.

• 25:15Speaker 00

  And this is before SNL. And I got my SAG card or I got my after, paid for everything. I had a little bit of money left over, like very little. And it was like. So cool and validating. And then, six weeks later, we were getting, we got the word that SNL was gonna go through a real change.

• 25:39Michelle Obama?

  Who was on at the time?

• 25:40Speaker 00

  That was, the year before I got there was the last year for Sandler and Farley and Phil Hartman, David Harvey and Mike Myers and that whole entire crew. They were only keeping Tim Meadows, Molly Shannon, Norm MacDonald, David Spade. And that they were gonna do a nationwide search for a brand-new cast and Groundlings was on the list. And, so...

• 26:08Michelle Obama?

  So, did you know they were, when they were there scouting you?

• 26:12Speaker 00

  We knew they were in the audience the night they came and it was a really great, everyone got to pick like their favorite sketch. And then, because I was willing to write with everyone, or they encouraged that, encouraged everyone to write with it. I was in three other sketches that were other people's favorites. So, I had like four sketches. And, yeah, myself, Sherri O'Terry, Jennifer Coolidge.

• 26:39Michelle Obama?

  Yeah.

• 26:40Speaker 00

  And Chris Catan, we're all flown out to New York for that first round of auditions. And then, that led to a callback.

• 26:48Michelle Obama?

  So, what are the auditions like? When you got there?

• 26:51Speaker 00

  Very nebulous. Very, like, like, it was like, pick a character of your choice, a political impersonation if you do one, a celebrity impersonation if you do one, five to eight minutes long, or if you don't do any of that, be funny.

• 27:10Michelle Obama?

  Go.

• 27:11Speaker 00

  That was it.

• 27:11Michelle Obama?

  Wow.

• 27:13Speaker 00

  On, in the SNL studio, on the spot where the host delivers the monologue.

• 27:19Michelle Obama?

  That's crazy.

• 27:20Speaker 00

  With a camera and like one spotlight and a disinterested guy holding like a boom mic like...

• 27:30Craig Robinson?

  What'd that feel like? Were you just over the moon nervous?

• 27:34Speaker 00

  Are you kidding me?

• 27:35Craig Robinson?

  Yeah. No, that's what I imagined.

• 27:37Speaker 00

  I literally was standing, so then you stand out, you're standing outside the stage doors by the page desk, and you're waiting, I'm hearing the audition in front of me, but I'm looking on the walls of all the hosts of that year.

• 27:54Michelle Obama?

  Oh, man.

• 27:55Speaker 00

  And past cast members and everything. And I literally remember, I remember thinking, you could just run right now.

• 28:03Michelle Obama?

  Remember what your dad said?

• 28:04Speaker 00

  You could just get right in that elevator and go right back and say, eh.

• 28:10Craig Robinson?

  Yeah.

• 28:10Speaker 00

  And then, as the door flew open, they're like,

• 28:14Michelle Obama?

  Too late.

• 28:14Speaker 00

  Well, next. And then you just had to step up there, and it was like...

• 28:18Michelle Obama?

  Do you remember what you did?

• 28:20Speaker 00

  Yeah, I did.

• 28:23Speaker 00

  I did this character that made it on the first show, this guy who's yelling at his kids to get off the shed.

• 28:30Speaker 00

  Which is so weird to talk about.

• 28:33Speaker 00

  Yeah, it's like a dad at a barbecue, who's just talking about school and golf and this and that. And then he's like, hey buddy, wanna do me a favor and get off the shed? Like, we don't see what the shed is. It's just like a gardening shed or whatever. And then back to the conversation, anyway, yeah. Hey, what'd I say? Get off the shed.

• 28:54Speaker 00

  Anyway, so, yeah, I took my car and I, get off the shed!

• 29:01Speaker 00

  And so, it was just a game of like yelling at the person, and then going back, and then the people around me, like getting so nervous. That was one thing I did. Then I did Harry Carey.

• 29:10Craig Robinson?

  Oh, yeah.

• 29:11Speaker 00

  At a play reading, doing a play reading of like, which was,

• 29:18Speaker 00

  which was a sketch I'd written at the Groundlings

• 29:23Speaker 00

  during the baseball strike that Harry Carey was unemployed, so now he was doing a play. But it was a, it was a, it was emotionally wrought. Like, like Eugene O'Neill type, like, like, damn it, Carol! What happened to us? Like, who's afraid of Virginia Woolf? I thought we still loved each other!

• 29:50Speaker 00

  You're breaking my heart. Look at me, don't turn away. I still have feelings for you. So I did that. But you gotta understand, it's dark. No one's laughing.

• 30:02Michelle Obama?

  Oh, man.

• 30:03Speaker 00

  Lauren's in the back of the room, you know. Lit cigarette, like shit.

• 30:07Craig Robinson?

  So you get no feedback.

• 30:09Speaker 00

  No feedback. And then I did, I think I did like Ted Kennedy doing stand-up comedy. I don't know.

• 30:15Michelle Obama?

  Oh, come on. What did that sound like?

• 30:18Speaker 00

  It was, uh, what did I do? Like, uh, I don't remember the jokes at all, but, but I would do Ted Kennedy like this and what did that chicken say as he crossed the road? No, I don't know. It was like, I wasn't doing that. Yeah. And that was, that was, but, and then you left. And then you had no idea.

• 30:43Michelle Obama?

  How long did it take for them to get back to you?

• 30:46Speaker 00

  We, I, we kinda heard after the fact, like the Groundlings had done really well.

• 30:51Michelle Obama?

  Okay.

• 30:52Speaker 00

  So there was a little bit and then flew back to LA. Uh, but once again, at that time I was doing, I'd got great advice. I was doing a, a class, which was a cold reading class, which is you just show up and they're just like, they hand you scripts. This guy Ian Tucker, I think is last name, great teacher. And it was just, it was such a cool class because you had to get out of your head and you just were like, uh, do you play Sam? You play Barbara? Go. And you just had to like be in the moment. And, and so after class one day, I'm like, Ian, guess what? I got an SNL audition. He went, you did? What? Oh, oh, no, no, good. He kinda was a little too. He was like, whoa.

• 31:34Speaker 00

  And I go, I go, cause he had worked with Lisa Kudrow and Fran, and he'd worked with a couple of, and like, do you have, do you have, he's like, wow. Okay. Just, you know what? Once again, he took the pressure off. He's like,

• 31:49Speaker 00

  You're just throwing darts at the dartboard here. Treat it, if you can, as a trip to New York. Have a great time.

• 31:56Michelle Obama?

  Yeah.

• 31:58Speaker 00

  If nothing happens, and you know, you can at least come back and maybe have a meeting with an agent, say, hey, I got to audition for SNL. Like, it's still a cool thing.

• 32:06Michelle Obama?

  Yeah.

• 32:06Speaker 00

  I was like, okay, let's just treat it that way. So then they, so they, they did call back all the grant. We had to do a second audition in which you sat down with Laura Michaels first.

• 32:20Michelle Obama?

  Yeah.

• 32:20Speaker 00

  You came up for two days. And then he had me change everything. I had to rewrite my audition the night before.

• 32:28Michelle Obama?

  Well, what did, how do you get that feedback?

• 32:30Speaker 00

  You, you sat with, he's like, what are you, what are you thinking about doing tomorrow?

• 32:33Michelle Obama?

  Yeah.

• 32:34Speaker 00

  And, and you, I had always heard in callbacks for network, like, just do the thing you've been doing, because that's what brought you there. And just keep, don't try to change anything. And so he said, what, what are you thinking about for tomorrow? I'm like, well, I'm gonna, I'm thinking I'm gonna do this. And he's like, no, I wouldn't, I wouldn't do that. No, no, no. The only thing is like, okay, do the get off the shed thing again.

• 32:54Michelle Obama?

  Uh huh.

• 32:56Speaker 00

  In hindsight, what he was, he was doing a favor because he knew the executives in Burbank were watching, and he wanted me to just show.

• 33:04Michelle Obama?

  Your range.

• 33:05Speaker 00

  Exactly.

• 33:05Michelle Obama?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 33:07Speaker 00

  So there I was sweating it and out, out in my tiny New York, you know, hotel room, trying to figure out what I was gonna do. And then that's when I did on this audition tape, there, there's, you can look it up. I, I'm a guy who plays with cat toys. I don't know if you've ever seen this.

• 33:23Michelle Obama?

  I will, I will look it up as soon as we leave.

• 33:26Speaker 00

  With cat toys. I did that. I was like.

• 33:30Craig Robinson?

  How do you think of this stuff on the fly?

• 33:32Speaker 00

  Well, no, it was another sketch I'd done at the ground.

• 33:34Craig Robinson?

  Oh, yeah, yeah, okay, okay, I got you.

• 33:37Speaker 00

  And then, um, so I just tried a couple other different things. And then, then I, then I really had no idea.

• 33:46Speaker 00

  But then a couple of weeks went by, and then I heard they were gonna come see us at the show, and then.

• 33:52Michelle Obama?

  What was it like sitting down with Lorne Michaels? What was, what was he like that first meeting? Were you just scared out of your pants?

• 34:00Speaker 00

  Lorne was very, yes. In fact, he, he thinks the story is so funny now. But I had read a story how Adam Sandler had done some crazy bit. And had a five minute meeting and was hired on the spot. And I thought, well, that's be free, be yourself and just be, be crazy. And you'll get, so. My, my version of craziness was I bought a whole bunch of fake money from a novelty store. And I was gonna, I had a briefcase and I was gonna let him talk. And I was just gonna start piling money on his desk. I was like, Lauren, we can keep talking till the cows come home. But we know what really talks, money.

• 34:43Speaker 00

  And I'm gonna stack this money up on your desk. And it was bad counterfeit money, toy money. I'm like, and no one's gonna know. You can take it or leave it. It's up to you. And then I was gonna pack up my thing and walk out. And that was gonna be my meeting. I walk in there with my briefcase and the atmosphere is like.

• 35:03Michelle Obama?

  Not that, no.

• 35:05Craig Robinson?

  So you didn't even get to do it?

• 35:06Speaker 00

  I, what comedian walks in with a briefcase? I left my little briefcase and I'm like, uh, okay. So don't do that. Okay, throw out my entire audition? Okay. And then I'm leaving going.

• 35:21Speaker 00

  He thinks I'm an, I have a brief, I'm like, what? What weirdo walks in with a leather briefcase?

• 35:30Speaker 00

  It's not like I had sketch or.

• 35:33Speaker 00

  Even Steve Higgins, who was hired as the new, who's still there today. Lauren was like, Steve, do you have anything you want to ask? He's like, nice briefcase. And I'm like, yeah, thanks. You have no idea. And then when I finally, Lauren wanted me to meet with me again. And they were very vague as to why. It was the meeting where he told me I got it.

• 35:58Craig Robinson?

  Oh, okay.

• 35:58Speaker 00

  So then I was, I was in my apartment on here and I was like, damn it. I'm bringing the briefcase back. I'm gonna show him, I'm gonna stack the money, I'm gonna do it. And this time I'm doing it. I walk, I walk in, the assistant goes, you can leave your briefcase. I'm like, okay.

• 36:16Speaker 00

  So we sit down. He has, you know, Lauren, Lauren can be obtuse at times. And I didn't even know I had the job. And he's like, so have you ever lived in New York? I go, no, no.

• 36:27Michelle Obama?

  No, thanks for the small talk.

• 36:29Speaker 00

  Yeah, it'd be like, it'd be fun though. He's like, well, we're bringing Sherri so you won't be alone. I'm like, what do you mean I won't be alone?

• 36:37Michelle Obama?

  What?

• 36:38Speaker 00

  Yeah, what? He's like, I think, you know, since you guys know each other. So Sherri was at the Groundlings too, and we'd worked together there too. And I'm like, what do you mean? So I won't be alone?

• 36:51Speaker 00

  Oh.

• 36:52Michelle Obama?

  This is the meeting.

• 36:53Speaker 00

  This is the meeting. And then, and then I got self-conscious that I didn't leap up out of my chair.

• 36:59Michelle Obama?

  Yeah.

• 37:00Speaker 00

  And so he's like, so anyway. And I'm like, ah, and I stood up and like, thank you so much. And I'm like, I was like, well, I'm gonna, I'm gonna shake your hand. And he goes, do what you have to do.

• 37:19Speaker 00

  And then I leave and I, I'm like, I'm like, oh my God, I gotta call, you know, I gotta call my folks. I gotta, I gotta find a payphone.

• 37:27Michelle Obama?

  Yeah, right, really.

• 37:28Speaker 00

  Before herself.

• 37:28Michelle Obama?

  Young people.

• 37:29Speaker 00

  Yep.

• 37:30Michelle Obama?

  That's the thing that doesn't exist anymore.

• 37:32Speaker 00

  I found one on Melrose. And I like, I grabbed my briefcase. And then now everyone in the office is like going, way to go. And they had to keep it a secret.

• 37:44Michelle Obama?

  Yeah.

• 37:45Speaker 00

  And I go, hold on, I've been trying to give this fake money to him twice. Will you just give it to him and say, this is what I was trying to do. I was gonna stack all this fake money. He got it later, he thought it was so funny that I tried twice.

• 37:58Michelle Obama?

  And he still didn't.

• 38:01Speaker 00

  Later.

• 38:01Michelle Obama?

  Right, right. Do you have a favorite character? I mean, I know everybody has theirs of yours, but of all the many characters you've played, is there one that, you know, it's like?

• 38:16Speaker 00

  They're all like my children.

• 38:18Michelle Obama?

  But you, everyone has a favorite.

• 38:20Speaker 00

  That's true. No. Do I have a fa- I'm lucky enough to, to, when people come up and bring up various things, it's, it's so fun to hear what their kind of favorite movie is. And I'm, I'm lucky enough to have, you know, have worked on enough of these movies that for whatever reasons have, you know, landed, hit the zeitgeist in the right way. The one, I mean,

• 38:54Speaker 00

  Talladega Nights was so much fun. That's where John and I first got to work at. And then we got to do Step Brothers. So those characters are near and dear to my heart.

• 39:04Speaker 00

  And then the, probably the silly, I, I tend to land on the Square of Ron Burgundy in Anchorman only because that was super hard to get made. It was, we, we had so many rejections. People were like, I don't get why this will be funny. And we're like, just trust. Yeah, it's just buffoonish guys. And, and it's not so much, it's a little bit satirical. It's more satirical than we ever thought, but, um, and now it's just really what the news is like. But, uh, but that was such a struggle and we finally got to make it. And it felt like we were playing with the house's money. And we're just like, we never thought we'd get to make this.

• 39:48Speaker 00

  So let's make it as crazy as we can. And so that one's, Ron Burgundy is pretty great.

• 39:55Craig Robinson?

  Yeah.

• 40:03Craig Robinson?

  I've lived in quite a few major cities over the years, and I've always loved how much each one changed whenever a big event came to town. All of a sudden, Chicago would be filled with music lovers or film aficionados, or of course, people dying to see the Cubs win. And in those moments, it can suddenly be quite difficult for visitors to find a place to stay, which is where Airbnb comes in, offering travelers an option with a bit more local charm. So if you've got some travel coming up during a big happening, like a music festival or a big sporting event, consider listing your place on Airbnb.

• 40:45Craig Robinson?

  It's an excellent way to be part of your city's experience. You're helping someone enjoy the weekend, the game, the whole vibe of your neighborhood, all while making a little extra income. Some cash you could put towards your next big trip. I know when I've traveled, I've always appreciated those little details, the personal moments that help make me feel connected with somewhere new. It's what makes a trip memorable. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.com/host. One thing that happens every summer is I end up spending a very long time in the supermarket picking out my produce.

• 41:29Craig Robinson?

  We get tomatoes that taste this way once a year, and I want to do this right. And that whole process is exactly why I appreciate using Shipt. The shoppers with Shipt really pay attention to the details. I can text directly with my shopper and make sure I'm getting exactly what I want, no matter how specific. With Shipt, you can get the main courses, the seasonings, and even an extra bag of charcoal, shop same day. You can also order from lots of different stores, including Safeway, Albertsons, Michael's, Target, and PetSmart. With an annual membership, you can place as many Shipt orders as you want,

• 42:13Craig Robinson?

  and you'll always pay $0 in delivery fees on orders over $35. Also, right now, you can get up to 30% off barbecue essentials, travel needs, and more during Shipt's Summer of Savings Event now through July 4. Get a $49 annual membership with the promo code PODCAST at shipt.com offer. That's S-H-I-P-T dot com slash offer. Terms apply. I really admire people who start their own businesses. And I've even thought about it myself, maybe a used sports gear market. Kelly already is deep in on the online reselling game. She would go crazy for that.

• 42:57Craig Robinson?

  And I already know exactly where I'd start. Shopify. What I like about Shopify is that you don't have to be a tech expert or have some giant company behind you. Shopify gives you all the tools to build your store, manage your customers and grow your business without feeling overwhelmed. And these days, it's not enough to just have a website. People are shopping everywhere, on social media, on YouTube, through apps and platforms you and I probably never heard of. Shopify helps get your products in front of customers wherever they already are. You probably use Shopify without even knowing it every single day. Every time you see that purple shop pay button at checkout,

• 43:40Craig Robinson?

  you know that's another business supported by Shopify. Build your store, own your audience and create something that lasts. Start now at Shopify.com/IMO.

• 43:57Michelle Obama?

  When did you meet Viv? Where in your journey?

• 44:00Speaker 00

  I met Viv.

• 44:01Michelle Obama?

  Did she show up?

• 44:03Speaker 00

  We were in an acting program down in Orange County, here in California. And so part of, so when I graduate from college, I immediately moved back home. I had a lot going on. A lot of prospects. I moved back home because I thought, okay, am I going to try the sportscasting thing? But the comedy thing, you know? So I'm trying to, I'm working at like a local cable news station. I'm also doing some stand-up comedy. And my, my mom says, that's okay. Let's just treat this as your graduate school.

• 44:43Michelle Obama?

  Your gap year.

• 44:44Speaker 00

  Yeah, your gap year. And she gives me a gift of a scene study class. It's the first acting class. And there's a great theater down in Orange County called South Coast Repertory Theater. It's a Tony Award winning. And we had grown up there going to see plays. My mom would be a docent from time, you know? She'd take us, we were like 10 years old, watching Chekhov going, I don't know what's going on, but it's, it looks like it's good.

• 45:11Speaker 00

  And they had a summer conservatory program. And I thought, oh, what I should audition for this. And anyway, that's where I meet Vivica. So she was in the same program. And we were both, she was like, she thought I was some rowdy frat guy.

• 45:33Michelle Obama?

  Cause you kinda were.

• 45:34Speaker 00

  Cause I kinda was, yeah. Like, I think, but I think the only thing that evidenced that was I wore my hat backwards one day. And she was like, uh-uh.

• 45:41Michelle Obama?

  I know your type.

• 45:43Speaker 00

  I'm like, really? And then I thought she was some erudite, stuck up actress girl. And.

• 45:50Michelle Obama?

  So you did, you saw her?

• 45:52Speaker 00

  I saw her right away. I think, I think she auditioned after I did because I think we were, I was like, who's this girl in the hallway going? Ooh. She was practicing. She's doing vocal work. I was like, what, who does that? La la la, oh, oh, oh. Like, who's that chick? And then I had my hat on backwards. What's up? But I was like, Viv, I think that was you. She's like, yeah, I think, I think I used to do those.

• 46:26Michelle Obama?

  I used to do that.

• 46:27Speaker 00

  And she was a, yeah, she was an art history major and a theater minor. And soccer player out at Pomona. And so, yeah, we, we met there. We were just, but we were, we dated a little bit and then we were friends for five years. And then we kind of doubled back.

• 46:44Michelle Obama?

  So what, wait, wait. You dated and then became friends?

• 46:48Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 46:48Michelle Obama?

  What happened? What did you do wrong in the first date?

• 46:51Craig Robinson?

  You wore your hat forward.

• 46:55Michelle Obama?

  How did you get friend zoned?

• 46:57Speaker 00

  How did? It was Viv. Viv was like, we, we really liked each other. She was like, she was the more mature. She was like, what are we gonna do though? Where's this going? And we're, we were just.

• 47:13Speaker 00

  Both kind of the one that got away for each other for a while there. But we had the same circles of friends. And so we'd see each other all the time. And then, and we always had this connection, like, like where if someone thought I was weird, she was like, that was really funny, by the way, I saw that. And, and we just, we, we just kind of were like, yeah, I don't know how it just became, it became a friendship to the point where like, I had a, I had a steady girlfriend. She would tell me about her dates. She was like, she's like, let me ask your opinions. Is it bad if a guy pulls out a coupon on a first date? I'm like, probably not good. I don't know. I mean, I don't want to, I don't want to cast judgment,

• 47:56Speaker 00

  but maybe not. Yeah, maybe, maybe, maybe keep, keep looking.

• 48:02Michelle Obama?

  So when did you guys get, make it official?

• 48:05Speaker 00

  When I got Saturday Night Live. No, no, I'm just kidding. But it kind of coincided a little bit, but I was on my first year of the show. And I came back to LA during one of our breaks. We, I called her up. She was like, I remember, this is how, this is how I knew I really still really liked her. It was the Lakers Houston playoff game.

• 48:36Michelle Obama?

  It begins with basketball.

• 48:39Speaker 00

  It does. And diehard Laker fan saw Magic and Bird playing their first game together. That's how diehard I am, up in the rafters at the Forum in eighth grade. Okay.

• 48:52Craig Robinson?

  Congratulations.

• 48:53Speaker 00

  Okay, thank you.

• 48:54Craig Robinson?

  Congratulations.

• 48:55Speaker 00

  Do I get, do I get some pleas for that?

• 48:57Michelle Obama?

  You're right. We'll give you a case. You do.

• 49:00Craig Robinson?

  There's three of us in the room, five of us in the room who can appreciate that.

• 49:04Michelle Obama?

  I stopped listening.

• 49:06Speaker 00

  So it starts with basketball. Vivica calls me and is like, hey, do you want to go for a walk in Runyon Canyon? And, and I was just gonna go walk the dog. And I was like, yep. I'm like, wait a minute, I'm blowing off watching the Laker game to go. So we go for this really fun walk. We're laughing, we're talking the whole time. She's like, hey, what are you doing? Do you want to stop by my place and have a beer? I was like, okay. She, I hope she's okay with me telling this. Anyway. It's too late, honey. Sorry.

• 49:36Michelle Obama?

  It's us.

• 49:37Speaker 00

  Okay, yeah.

• 49:39Michelle Obama?

  We'll just keep it between us.

• 49:41Speaker 00

  She gives me a beer and she drank her beer in two sips.

• 49:46Michelle Obama?

  Yes.

• 49:48Speaker 00

  And she's like, "Do you want another one?"

• 49:49Michelle Obama?

  Who's the frat boy now?

• 49:50Speaker 00

  No kidding.

• 49:54Speaker 00

  And so she drinks it and she's like, "Do you want another one?" I go, "I haven't even finished the first one." I go, "Sure." So I'm like, "Double pissed." And she's really nervous. And I can't figure out what's going on. Once again, I'm telling you, we're just friends. Like, I've lost, I blew it with her.

• 50:14Speaker 00

  And so she sits down, she's like, "So..."

• 50:20Speaker 00

  I mean, "I just want to tell you, I still really like you." And I said, "What?" I go, and of course, I can't play it cool.

• 50:33Speaker 00

  I go, "You're not gonna... I just told my uncle, if there was anyone I would marry, it's you." And then she goes-

• 50:39Craig Robinson?

  Did you really say that?

• 50:40Speaker 00

  I swear to, yes.

• 50:41Craig Robinson?

  You said that?

• 50:41Michelle Obama?

  You turned into Buddy the Elf.

• 50:43Speaker 00

  I turned into Buddy the... And then she was like, "Okay." And then we didn't know what to do. And then she drove me home and I thought, I thought it was like, game on. And I went in to give her a kiss and she gave me the cheek. And then I was like, and then, and then it was, yeah. And then we were in this weird kind of thing of like, we had both-

• 51:05Michelle Obama?

  It was out there, it was on the table.

• 51:08Speaker 00

  But we were friends. And then she's like, "By the way, I'm still kinda, by the way, I'm also dating someone right now." Wait a minute.

• 51:14Michelle Obama?

  What are you doing to me?

• 51:15Speaker 00

  Hold on. And then I was like, "Okay, well, okay." I take back what I said. Then I got... And then we saw each other when the season was over. She's like, "By the way, I'm not, I broke up with that guy, just so you know." I'm like, "All right, okay, well, good for you."

• 51:32Speaker 00

  So? And then- Anyway, it's been a whole summer of courtship.

• 51:40Michelle Obama?

  Of that.

• 51:41Speaker 00

  Of just like, hang out, going to get coffee.

• 51:43Michelle Obama?

  That's cool. Did she move to New York eventually?

• 51:47Speaker 00

  And then by the end of that summer, we're like, I think we're dating, we're dating, right? We're like, and then, but she was still working out here and I, the SNL schedule is so conducive. There's so many breaks, I could go back and forth. So she'd come visit and we, you know, we still, I still did SNL when we were married and we still, we just, we just knew we'd end up back here.

• 52:10Michelle Obama?

  Got it. Did that settle you down? Did you feel, you know, did that, did that help you in your career? Feeling like I got my person, you know, my ride or die, she gets me, I'm not doing this thing alone. Or was it, you know, was it harder because now you?

• 52:30Speaker 00

  She was, um, she's kind of just a very unique person in the thing, in the thing that she was always, because you'd work on something and someone would be on the phone, you know, and it's like, that's my girlfriend. Asked me how much later, how much longer are we going to shoot? And, and Viv would never, she'd be like, I get it.

• 52:56Michelle Obama?

  Yeah.

• 52:56Speaker 00

  It's a movie. And she just had this easiness about her. I think because she tried acting a little bit and she, but she had this understanding of like, and we'd always have this open discussion of like, if I was going to take on a project, I was like, I may be here for three months. She's like, don't worry, we'll come visit.

• 53:16Michelle Obama?

  Yeah.

• 53:16Speaker 00

  And, but we also made a plan that I always would take the summer off for the most part. So we just, we would bank the time when we could.

• 53:23Michelle Obama?

  Yep.

• 53:24Speaker 00

  And, and she was just like, no, this is what it takes, you know? And so I lucked out.

• 53:30Craig Robinson?

  Yeah.

• 53:31Michelle Obama?

  You sure did.

• 53:32Craig Robinson?

  How long were you all married before you had kids, your first kid?

• 53:36Speaker 00

  Uh, uh, four years.

• 53:39Craig Robinson?

  Okay.

• 53:39Speaker 00

  Yeah. Magnus was born in 2004.

• 53:42Craig Robinson?

  So you were still at Saturday Night Live then?

• 53:44Speaker 00

  No, I left. In, no, I just left. I left in 2002.

• 53:49Craig Robinson?

  Okay.

• 53:50Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 53:50Michelle Obama?

  Ooh, so big, big risk moving, big jump and then baby?

• 53:55Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 53:55Michelle Obama?

  Way to go. Way to double down on it all. How did that feel?

• 53:59Speaker 00

  Left, left the set of Kicking and Screaming.

• 54:02Michelle Obama?

  Mm-hmm.

• 54:03Speaker 00

  I don't know if you guys remember that movie.

• 54:06Speaker 00

  Left the set when I heard Viv was in labor and the crew was like, "Yes, way to go, Will." They thought it was so cool, even though it was worked out ahead of time.

• 54:19Speaker 00

  And, uh, yeah, we just built in a little break and, uh, Magnus was born, yeah. Yeah.

• 54:26Michelle Obama?

  How was, uh, how was it being a dad? How did that change you?

• 54:30Speaker 00

  I did not like it. I was like, uh-oh.

• 54:33Michelle Obama?

  It's like, he's messing up everything.

• 54:35Speaker 00

  No, it was, it's been amazing, like, every step of the way, yeah.

• 54:41Michelle Obama?

  So, she's surrounded by four big, stinky men.

• 54:47Speaker 00

  Yep.

• 54:48Michelle Obama?

  Poor thing.

• 54:49Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 54:50Michelle Obama?

  Does she have girlfriends that help ease the...

• 54:54Michelle Obama?

  Sisters, anything to break up that testosterone?

• 54:59Speaker 00

  She, yeah, she, I mean, once again, she's kinda unfazed. She's, she was actually like,

• 55:06Speaker 00

  I remember when our youngest son was born and the, one of the nurses at the hospital was like, "You gotta go for the girl." And, and I was like, "No, we're good, that's three, that's three, we're good." And she's like, "Who am I kidding? I'm not, I'm just not gonna have girls." And she's like, "And I don't know if, I, I might, I don't know if I'd be a good girl mom." Yeah.

• 55:27Michelle Obama?

  I always thought I was gonna have three boys.

• 55:30Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 55:31Michelle Obama?

  I don't, you know, where does that come from?

• 55:32Speaker 00

  Right, right, where does that come, exactly.

• 55:34Michelle Obama?

  You know?

• 55:34Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 55:35Michelle Obama?

  My two girls are amazing and I was not going for the boy, you know? It was just like, I got two healthy girls. And Barack was in politics, so I said, "That's your third child, right there."

• 55:46Speaker 00

  Right, right, right, so.

• 55:49Michelle Obama?

  Yeah.

• 55:51Speaker 00

  But yeah, I don't, we, we kind of just, uh,

• 55:56Speaker 00

  I mean, there's obviously a transition, but I don't, I don't remember it. I mean, now it's so long ago, but.

• 56:03Michelle Obama?

  Not that long ago.

• 56:05Speaker 00

  Yeah. We, but, but having a, a new baby around, we just kinda,

• 56:09Michelle Obama?

  Yeah.

• 56:10Speaker 00

  It was a new, new thing we were doing. Even though Viv, Viv was never the type who's like...

• 56:19Speaker 00

  Like, she's like, I wanted to have kids, but she was not obsessed with it. And so when it finally happened, and she is the biggest dog person in the world. And I remember when it was getting really close to her due date. And she collapsed on the floor one day, very hormonal and feeling everything and feeling that. And I'm like, what is it? What? What? Are you OK? She's like, what if I love the dogs more than the baby?

• 56:51Speaker 00

  And I, I was like, in my head, I'm like.

• 56:56Michelle Obama?

  Is that a thing?

• 56:57Speaker 00

  Is that a thing? And then, but I was like, then we'll just work it out. I was like, I doubt that's gonna happen, but we'll, we'll, we'll work it out. And sure enough, when we came home with Maggie, she's like, dogs stayed downstairs.

• 57:12Michelle Obama?

  Great, yeah.

• 57:12Speaker 00

  And it was all.

• 57:14Craig Robinson?

  That changed it all.

• 57:15Speaker 00

  Yeah, yeah.

• 57:17Craig Robinson?

  Oh, that's great.

• 57:18Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 57:19Michelle Obama?

  What kind of dad are you?

• 57:21Speaker 00

  Uh, strict disciplinarian.

• 57:25Michelle Obama?

  We don't believe that.

• 57:28Speaker 00

  I'm, I'm, I wouldn't say I'm strict, but yeah, I've had to learn. I've gotten more frustrated than you would think, though, in a way. Where I've, I've lost my temper.

• 57:42Michelle Obama?

  Get off this shit!

• 57:43Speaker 00

  That's become real sometimes. And I've learned to, once again, now the boys are 16, 19, and 22. So it's, there's not as much of that. But yeah, growing up, I was surprised at where it'd be like, I tried to use all the parenting techniques, and then it just turned into, because I said so!

• 58:02Michelle Obama?

  Yes.

• 58:03Speaker 00

  Yeah. And so I'd turn into that guy.

• 58:06Michelle Obama?

  Yeah.

• 58:06Speaker 00

  And they'd look at me like, who are you? You're crazy! And so I'm like, uh-oh, that's, that's not good, but uh.

• 58:17Michelle Obama?

  Are they funny like you?

• 58:19Speaker 00

  No, I was, I was like, I was, I think I was.

• 58:23Speaker 00

  I never pushed like anything about or we never talked about my work. If and if they if I happen to have a billboard of a movie, they'd be like, oh, there's Papa. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, that's gonna come out soon.

• 58:36Michelle Obama?

  Yeah.

• 58:37Speaker 00

  We just kept it like.

• 58:38Michelle Obama?

  Yeah.

• 58:39Craig Robinson?

  How old were they when they could figure out what was really going on though?

• 58:42Speaker 00

  Like when they started school, like first grade, second grade, kindergarten, they started realizing. Oh, okay. Other kids know who you are and.

• 58:54Speaker 00

  And. But then I would I would try to always like hmm, I just try to find fun ways to diffuse the tension. So. There'd be like a big argument and then I would just leave for a little while and just come out my underwear. Nothing but my underwear and go, guys, we got to be serious about this. Okay?

• 59:16Craig Robinson?

  Great.

• 59:16Speaker 00

  Look, look at me. Listen to me. And they would, they try not to.

• 59:22Speaker 00

  They just start laughing and I was I was always trying to like just change up.

• 59:26Michelle Obama?

  Oh, I want you for a dad.

• 59:28Speaker 00

  And then I would always have them do this thing if they got in a fight and be like, okay, you guys don't get to do. This whatever you want to do, whatever the thing we've just worked out, hands in the middle, Hermano Sanpris. Which is brothers always. They're like, what?

• 59:42Michelle Obama?

  What?

• 59:42Speaker 00

  Just say it. They'd be like Hermano Sanpris. Nope, you gotta say it like you mean it. You gotta say it right. Hermano Sanpris. No, I'm sorry.

• 59:54Speaker 00

  I'm throwing the Xbox in the pool. I want to hear. And then they'd be laughing again. And yeah, because my mom would do things like that when my brother and I. Make us run around the car 10 times on a car trip if we were and by the time we were done, we were laughing.

• 1:00:08Michelle Obama?

  Yeah.

• 1:00:09Speaker 00

  And so I was I so I would try to do those sorts of things.

• 1:00:12Craig Robinson?

  But people don't realize when you have boys.

• 1:00:14Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 1:00:15Craig Robinson?

  They're gonna fight, but it's not a real fight.

• 1:00:18Speaker 00

  Right.

• 1:00:19Craig Robinson?

  It's like you don't have to worry about them killing each other.

• 1:00:22Speaker 00

  Right. Yeah.

• 1:00:23Craig Robinson?

  But they fight.

• 1:00:25Speaker 00

  Yeah. Yeah.

• 1:00:26Craig Robinson?

  Yeah.

• 1:00:27Speaker 00

  And we've we've been lucky that our and we got three big guys and they've never had the full. Because my brother and I had had some full like. Throwing punches.

• 1:00:37Craig Robinson?

  Yeah.

• 1:00:38Speaker 00

  And the guys, it's been one punch.

• 1:00:41Craig Robinson?

  Yeah.

• 1:00:41Speaker 00

  And they're like, ah.

• 1:00:42Craig Robinson?

  Yeah, yeah, nobody fights anymore.

• 1:00:44Speaker 00

  Right.

• 1:00:44Craig Robinson?

  But we told our boys that if you guys can fight.

• 1:00:49Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 1:00:50Craig Robinson?

  But when you're done, you have to kiss and make up on the mouth.

• 1:00:53Speaker 00

  Okay, I like that.

• 1:00:54Craig Robinson?

  And it ended everything.

• 1:00:59Craig Robinson?

  How about that?

• 1:01:00Michelle Obama?

  Who thought of that?

• 1:01:01Craig Robinson?

  Kelly.

• 1:01:02Speaker 00

  That's so good.

• 1:01:04Craig Robinson?

  I was like, where'd you get that?

• 1:01:05Michelle Obama?

  Really?

• 1:01:06Craig Robinson?

  Yes.

• 1:01:07Michelle Obama?

  It's like, well done.

• 1:01:08Craig Robinson?

  Well done.

• 1:01:08Michelle Obama?

  And it's like, ew.

• 1:01:09Speaker 00

  Viv was, Viv was always good because she learned, she like had, of course, read all the books and everything. And then she was just like, okay, so Magnus, what do you want? What, what would you, what, what upset you about what Matthias just did? Hold on, let me see. Okay, Matthias, what would you like to see from Matt? And like, do this conflict negotiation and, which worked great at first. And then as I got older, like, do we have to do this again? They see right through it. Like, I know, you're gonna ask me what I, my problem I have, and I'm gonna say this, and I don't want to do that anymore.

• 1:01:46Michelle Obama?

  Right.

• 1:01:47Craig Robinson?

  Did they follow in your footsteps as a three-sport athlete?

• 1:01:52Speaker 00

  Not, you know, sports are so different now. It's all so specialized.

• 1:01:55Michelle Obama?

  Yeah, it is.

• 1:01:56Craig Robinson?

  It's a shame.

• 1:01:57Speaker 00

  Right? Magnus is a big, big soccer player.

• 1:02:00Craig Robinson?

  Okay.

• 1:02:03Speaker 00

  Matthias is basketball and volleyball, and Axel's basketball and volleyball.

• 1:02:09Michelle Obama?

  College players, are they playing in?

• 1:02:11Speaker 00

  No. No, Magnus is, Magnus is, is singing now. He's out, yeah, he's got, he's got music out there. Magnus Farrell.

• 1:02:22Michelle Obama?

  Way to go. He's got music out.

• 1:02:24Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 1:02:25Michelle Obama?

  What's his genre?

• 1:02:26Speaker 00

  See, can I play you a little something?

• 1:02:28Michelle Obama?

  Please.

• 1:02:29Speaker 00

  Right?

• 1:02:29Michelle Obama?

  Yes. Yes.

• 1:02:31Speaker 00

  Okay, sorry.

• 1:02:32Michelle Obama?

  Proud dad. I love it. Yes.

• 1:02:35Speaker 00

  So proud. But like, this is this, this is this little five-year-old you met in the map room.

• 1:02:40Michelle Obama?

  Oh, yeah?

• 1:02:41Speaker 00

  Yeah. When they brought whoopee cushions?

• 1:02:43Michelle Obama?

  Yeah.

• 1:02:43Speaker 00

  The boys brought whoopee cushions to the White House.

• 1:02:45Craig Robinson?

  Oh, nice.

• 1:02:47Speaker 00

  But this is.

• 1:02:48Michelle Obama?

  They were ready for prime time.

• 1:02:50Speaker 00

  They were ready for prime time. But this is that kid.

• 1:02:57Speaker 00

  So.

• 1:02:59Michelle Obama?

  Wow. He's got a groove going.

• 1:03:10Speaker 00

  Wow, okay. Breathy.

• 1:03:16Speaker 00

  Right?

• 1:03:16Michelle Obama?

  Oh, my God.

• 1:03:17Speaker 00

  Yeah. Twenty-two.

• 1:03:19Michelle Obama?

  Okay. Yeah.

• 1:03:24Speaker 00

  Right?

• 1:03:26Michelle Obama?

  Okay. Magnus.

• 1:03:31Michelle Obama?

  Is he this cute?

• 1:03:35Speaker 00

  More handsome than me, and I'm pretty handsome.

• 1:03:37Michelle Obama?

  Yeah, sure.

• 1:03:39Speaker 00

  But this way, hold on.

• 1:03:40Michelle Obama?

  Okay.

• 1:03:46Speaker 00

  This next one's for Craig.

• 1:03:51Speaker 00

  Coming up. This is for you, Craig, in your Airbnb.

• 1:03:58Michelle Obama?

  Okay.

• 1:03:59Craig Robinson?

  Okay, Magnus.

• 1:04:02Michelle Obama?

  Oh, yeah.

• 1:04:04Speaker 00

  Okay.

• 1:04:04Craig Robinson?

  Okay.

• 1:04:05Michelle Obama?

  Okay.

• 1:04:06Speaker 00

  Magnus Farrell.

• 1:04:07Michelle Obama?

  Magnus. Is that out?

• 1:04:10Speaker 00

  That's out right now. "Asleep Talking."

• 1:04:12Michelle Obama?

  "Asleep Talking." Did he, does he write?

• 1:04:15Speaker 00

  He's on Republic Records label.

• 1:04:16Michelle Obama?

  Wow, he's got an amazing groove.

• 1:04:19Speaker 00

  And he, he, his buddy Gabe, they met in seventh grade jazz band at Harvard-Westlake. They were the competing piano players.

• 1:04:28Michelle Obama?

  Yeah.

• 1:04:29Speaker 00

  Magnus was very, hated Gabe. In fact, wrote his college entrance paper on how he hated the guy who eventually became his best friend.

• 1:04:40Michelle Obama?

  Oh, that's cool.

• 1:04:42Speaker 00

  And they, they, they left USC Music School sophomore year to go, and they're both making stuff like this.

• 1:04:50Michelle Obama?

  Wow.

• 1:04:51Craig Robinson?

  That's good.

• 1:04:52Michelle Obama?

  That's good.

• 1:04:53Craig Robinson?

  Okay.

• 1:04:53Michelle Obama?

  Very soulful.

• 1:04:54Craig Robinson?

  Yeah, very.

• 1:04:55Speaker 00

  Right?

• 1:04:56Michelle Obama?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 1:04:57Speaker 00

  It's throwback kind of R&B.

• 1:04:58Michelle Obama?

  Oh, God, yeah, and it's right up, you know, it's, it's what's, what's happening. And he's got a. He's got a good voice, that falsetto is just.

• 1:05:07Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 1:05:08Michelle Obama?

  So, yeah, I mean, you can sing too.

• 1:05:12Speaker 00

  I can not, not like that, but yeah, sure.

• 1:05:15Michelle Obama?

  So where does the music come, that's your, your father, did your mom sing? Does, uh, Vivica, I mean.

• 1:05:22Speaker 00

  Viv's a really good singer.

• 1:05:23Michelle Obama?

  Oh, wow.

• 1:05:24Speaker 00

  Viv was in bands in college.

• 1:05:25Michelle Obama?

  Wow.

• 1:05:26Speaker 00

  And did like, was Rizzo in Grease.

• 1:05:29Michelle Obama?

  Okay, yeah, all right.

• 1:05:32Speaker 00

  And, uh, so she's really musical. The boys all grew up playing piano and, uh, um, so yeah, in terms of following my, so, and then Matthias is doing some acting stuff.

• 1:05:44Michelle Obama?

  Hmm.

• 1:05:44Speaker 00

  And Axel's playing ball for right now. But he can sing too, anyway, so we'll see, you know.

• 1:05:51Michelle Obama?

  That's so cool.

• 1:05:52Speaker 00

  But we're just happy they are, because there's so much, like, teen, like, mental, like, like, it's so tough out there.

• 1:06:01Michelle Obama?

  Yeah.

• 1:06:02Speaker 00

  And they're finding stuff they're just passionate about. And it's just like, go.

• 1:06:06Craig Robinson?

  Yeah.

• 1:06:13Craig Robinson?

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• 1:06:53Craig Robinson?

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• 1:07:20Speaker 03

  Wayfair, every style, every home.

• 1:07:23Craig Robinson?

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• 1:08:07Craig Robinson?

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• 1:08:43Craig Robinson?

  Let's talk about the hawk.

• 1:08:45Speaker 00

  Oh, yeah, right. The hawk.

• 1:08:47Craig Robinson?

  How'd that come out?

• 1:08:48Speaker 00

  Coming out on Netflix.

• 1:08:49Craig Robinson?

  Yes. We got to see a couple of episodes.

• 1:08:51Speaker 00

  Oh, okay.

• 1:08:52Michelle Obama?

  It's good.

• 1:08:53Speaker 00

  Yeah. It's very silly.

• 1:08:55Craig Robinson?

  Very funny. Very funny.

• 1:08:57Speaker 00

  No, that's, I play a, kind of a down and out golfer, Lonnie the Hawk Hawkins. Who's, who's still, he's down in, in the minor leagues of golf, the Corn Fairy Tour, which is a real thing.

• 1:09:13Craig Robinson?

  Yes.

• 1:09:14Speaker 00

  Hanging on to his dream of winning the fourth major.

• 1:09:17Michelle Obama?

  And he's a jerk.

• 1:09:18Speaker 00

  He's a jerk. Yeah.

• 1:09:20Michelle Obama?

  Very selfish.

• 1:09:22Speaker 00

  He's very narcissistic.

• 1:09:24Craig Robinson?

  I wasn't ready for the first episode, though. I was looking forward. I don't want to spoil anything, but man, you hit it hard right at the beginning.

• 1:09:33Speaker 00

  It's very, yes. It's, yeah, it's, it's kind of an old school comedy where we don't really hold any punches and there's.

• 1:09:42Michelle Obama?

  Not at all.

• 1:09:43Speaker 00

  There's, there's not a big message.

• 1:09:46Michelle Obama?

  Not Buddy the Elf.

• 1:09:47Speaker 00

  It's not, no, it's not Buddy. This guy, but as you watch the series, he does have a heart.

• 1:09:53Michelle Obama?

  Yeah.

• 1:09:54Speaker 00

  And, but he's competing.

• 1:09:56Craig Robinson?

  Good, cuz in the first episode, you're thinking, this dude is a colossal jerk. It's, oh, man.

• 1:10:04Speaker 00

  Yeah, he, um, just when you think, yeah, he's, he's, he's a, he's kind of a broken, flawed guy. Yeah, a bit of a, a bit of a scallywag. Does everyone know that word?

• 1:10:17Michelle Obama?

  Mm.

• 1:10:18Craig Robinson?

  Oh, yeah.

• 1:10:18Speaker 00

  Okay.

• 1:10:18Craig Robinson?

  Well, the older people.

• 1:10:19Michelle Obama?

  Yeah, we were like, yes, of course.

• 1:10:22Speaker 00

  But it's a really funny, Molly Shannon plays my, my wife. Who's, everyone thinks is ex-wife, but I refuse to sign the divorce papers.

• 1:10:29Craig Robinson?

  Yes.

• 1:10:30Speaker 00

  Jimmy Tatro is my son.

• 1:10:32Craig Robinson?

  Is that the son? He's good.

• 1:10:33Speaker 00

  He's great.

• 1:10:34Craig Robinson?

  He's really good.

• 1:10:34Speaker 00

  And he's the next prodigy in golf, which I'm very proud of, but compete against at the same time. I wanna take credit for his success.

• 1:10:41Michelle Obama?

  And the, kind of the polar opposites. You, you know, don't eat well, you don't train, your caddy is crazy, and he's like the Uber. You know?

• 1:10:50Speaker 00

  Right.

• 1:10:51Michelle Obama?

  He's training and eating the right stuff and living just a totally different life.

• 1:10:55Speaker 00

  Yep. And, uh, but yeah, it was, it was, it's just a super fun cast, super fun comedy where we kind of, explore golf in a, make some comments about golf that haven't been made. And, uh, and the PGA was very cool and was on board and we're like, yeah, poke fun at us. We're, we're good, we're good with it.

• 1:11:16Craig Robinson?

  Good.

• 1:11:17Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 1:11:17Craig Robinson?

  Yeah, they need it.

• 1:11:18Speaker 00

  So, yeah.

• 1:11:19Craig Robinson?

  They need it.

• 1:11:19Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 1:11:20Craig Robinson?

  Yeah, I was telling our, our colleagues that, and thank you, by the way, because you are one of a handful of actors that I can watch whatever you do. You, Robert De Niro, Denzel.

• 1:11:38Michelle Obama?

  If you've got one line.

• 1:11:40Speaker 00

  Denzel, Robert, I'm in good company.

• 1:11:42Michelle Obama?

  Oh, yes.

• 1:11:42Speaker 00

  Wow.

• 1:11:43Michelle Obama?

  Well done.

• 1:11:44Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 1:11:44Michelle Obama?

  You've brought a lot of joy to a lot of people and, uh, I just, we're just grateful to have you here.

• 1:11:51Speaker 00

  This, thanks for having me.

• 1:11:53Michelle Obama?

  Yeah, we, um, usually do a listener question.

• 1:11:56Speaker 00

  Okay.

• 1:11:57Michelle Obama?

  This is, in my opinion, so we try to offer some advice to people who write in.

• 1:12:02Speaker 00

  All of us, all of us chip in?

• 1:12:03Michelle Obama?

  We all chip in.

• 1:12:05Speaker 00

  Okay.

• 1:12:05Craig Robinson?

  We all chip in.

• 1:12:06Michelle Obama?

  You think this is a good time for our listener question?

• 1:12:09Craig Robinson?

  Lena.

• 1:12:10Michelle Obama?

  Lena, Lena from, Lena who is in her late 30s from the state of Washington.

• 1:12:17Speaker 04

  So.

• 1:12:17Craig Robinson?

  As opposed to Washington DC.

• 1:12:19Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 1:12:19Speaker 00

  Washington State. Seattle. Yakima. Let me guess. Olympia. Some water.

• 1:12:28Speaker 04

  Unknown.

• 1:12:29Speaker 00

  Unknown. Okay.

• 1:12:33Speaker 04

  Oh boy.

• 1:12:34Speaker 00

  I've got more.

• 1:12:36Craig Robinson?

  That's pretty good.

• 1:12:37Speaker 04

  I know.

• 1:12:37Craig Robinson?

  That's a lot.

• 1:12:38Speaker 04

  Ooh. I am the parent of four amazing children. A new baby, a three-year-old, a five-year-old, and an eight-year-old. They are my whole world. However, to be frank, my three-year-old is a total shit disturber. He's super, super smart, really energetic, and is incredibly sweet. But he can also use all of his charm and strength to kind of bully his older siblings into doing things his way. He's a great kid, but I think just so high-energy and advanced that he gets bored very easily. He's a little force of nature, and we're tired. I've literally had family tell me, I think lovingly that this kid is either going to discover the cure for cancer or be a serial killer.

• 1:13:23Speaker 04

  I have two questions. One, how do I make sure he ends up going on path one? And two, my actual question, how do I parent a kid who demands a lot of time and energy without sucking the whole family, and especially the other children, into all of these antics? And that's Lena in Washington in her late 30s.

• 1:13:44Speaker 00

  Whoa.

• 1:13:46Michelle Obama?

  That sounds like a perfect question for you.

• 1:13:51Speaker 00

  Four. I'm just thinking about four.

• 1:13:54Michelle Obama?

  You're just starting there.

• 1:13:55Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 1:13:55Michelle Obama?

  It's like, she went for the one you did not.

• 1:13:58Speaker 00

  Yeah. Right.

• 1:14:01Speaker 00

  And it's the three-year-old, right?

• 1:14:02Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 1:14:03Speaker 00

  That's in question.

• 1:14:04Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 1:14:05Speaker 00

  Um.

• 1:14:09Speaker 00

  Lena, I think you're screwed. No.

• 1:14:13Speaker 00

  No. Yeah, what, I mean, you gotta,

• 1:14:19Speaker 00

  you gotta kinda tie yourself to the mast and weather the storm and let these, you have to, you know, I think you have to let kids be who they're gonna be, but at the same time, try to set up some boundaries that won't compete with the other, well, it's, it sounds like an infant, but the other two who are conscious of that stuff. And, cause it sounds like this little guy needs to stretch his, stretch out and do his thing.

• 1:14:53Speaker 00

  Yeah, I just, I don't know, you just have to try to find a way to manage both sides of it, in a way. Right?

• 1:15:00Michelle Obama?

  Yeah, it's a-

• 1:15:02Craig Robinson?

  No, go ahead.

• 1:15:03Michelle Obama?

  I'm still, you know, I'm, I'm still trying to figure out how to help Lena, but you know, it's, three is a unique time, so-

• 1:15:11Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 1:15:11Michelle Obama?

  You know, I think part of what you said, Will, there's some weathering the storm.

• 1:15:16Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 1:15:16Michelle Obama?

  You know?

• 1:15:16Speaker 00

  It will pass.

• 1:15:17Michelle Obama?

  Where, yeah, where he is at three developmentally, he still is, he may still be form, formulating language, he might, you know, he might, he's got a lot of growing up to do, and so you, you gotta give him a little grace of just three-year-olds, three-year-old boys in particular, and I didn't have boys.

• 1:15:39Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 1:15:39Michelle Obama?

  And I know that there's a distinct difference between girls and boys. I mean, my girls, you know, girls can sit and color, you know?

• 1:15:48Speaker 00

  And even when we, when we would have, when we just had two of the boys, for whatever reason, we were like, why is it so calm to, like, what's, and then the third one would come along, and there'd be no rhyme or reason, they'd just seek chaos, and then smack someone in the head, and then it was game on again, and we're like, oh. So, that's just gonna happen, I mean-

• 1:16:09Michelle Obama?

  And he may need a different kind of attention. I mean, if the other two kids, they're older and they probably can be a bit more self-sufficient. And the baby is a baby. And, you know, this is one thing I learned. Babies are, you know, you don't, you don't need to put tons of time into the, if you're dividing. It's like, let the baby feed the baby, you know? Have the baby around. The baby's learning through osmosis through all these other kids and they're gonna be okay.

• 1:16:40Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 1:16:41Michelle Obama?

  Um, the older kids, put them in activities, you know? Get them focused on some stuff so that maybe you can give the three-year-old the attention that he's craving, you know? So that it's not, you know, don't consider it a suck, right? It may just be that you might need to give him a little extra time.

• 1:17:03Speaker 00

  If she has that time to give.

• 1:17:05Michelle Obama?

  So that's why I'm saying, try to, try to create it where it isn't, doesn't feel like a suck. The baby is good.

• 1:17:13Speaker 00

  Or take, take this little guy to the dog park. Just let him run around in an enclosed area.

• 1:17:18Michelle Obama?

  But that's, she, she may need to figure out what, what motivates him.

• 1:17:24Speaker 00

  What motivates him, yeah, I agree.

• 1:17:25Michelle Obama?

  What is, you know, she doesn't have the time to really focus in on what, what is he really asking for?

• 1:17:31Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 1:17:31Michelle Obama?

  You know? Is it time? Does he need more attention? Does he need to run more?

• 1:17:36Speaker 00

  Right, right.

• 1:17:36Michelle Obama?

  You know, um, she might need to solve him and it may take her a minute. And with, now she has four, I'm sure she doesn't have the time that she had with the two older kids to see them.

• 1:17:49Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 1:17:50Michelle Obama?

  And to really be like, this is who you are. And if there's a way to do a little divide and conquering for a minute, you know? I don't know if she has a husband, she has friends or family members that can take the easier kids for a period of time. And it doesn't have to be forever.

• 1:18:07Speaker 00

  Right, right, right.

• 1:18:08Michelle Obama?

  It might just, he may need to be, it's like, it's like the puppy. He may need to have an individual walk.

• 1:18:15Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 1:18:16Michelle Obama?

  Or run or whatever it is, you know? She's gonna have to experiment with some things, you know? But with all kids, I think you can set boundaries, you know? You can, you just have to, you know? And it takes, may take, an extra level of energy with this one.

• 1:18:36Craig Robinson?

  Yeah.

• 1:18:36Michelle Obama?

  But you gotta kinda keep at it. You know, he still has to follow some rules and not be a jerk and be nice and listen. You know, it's just harder with that many kids to stay on the one. It's nicer when they just cooperate, right? Well, she's got one that's like, no, I need, I need to hear it a hundred times. You know, I, I think now is the time to try to figure him out. And if the other two kids are, are relatively okay, the older ones, then I would spend some time on this three-year-old just to try to figure out what buttons need to be pushed for him.

• 1:19:18Craig Robinson?

  So, both of you give good advice, but I've got a couple of things that I wanna...

• 1:19:24Michelle Obama?

  Okay, and thank you, thank you for that encouragement.

• 1:19:27Craig Robinson?

  That, that, I wanna, I wanna, a couple of things I wanna tell Lena. First of all, the likelihood of him becoming an ax murderer is pretty small.

• 1:19:36Michelle Obama?

  It is, that is true.

• 1:19:38Craig Robinson?

  So, don't, don't let those folks scare you into...

• 1:19:42Michelle Obama?

  I agree.

• 1:19:42Craig Robinson?

  Thinking this guy's gonna be a psychopath. But, when you, I, I, I've got four kids, but I had two older and two younger, so I didn't have this dynamic. But, I suspect if we did have this dynamic, this was, be how we would attack it. And, that advice, my, my, our mom would say that. Whenever there was a new baby around, "Babies don't need a whole lot of attention," she would always say. "Give the attention to the kid who's the next one up," or whatever you have, "because they're feeling the addition of that kid." And when you look at these ages... Eight, five, three, and newborn.

• 1:20:25Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 1:20:26Craig Robinson?

  The three-year-old got sandwiched between a short age. Like, the eight-year-old.

• 1:20:32Michelle Obama?

  Got to have.

• 1:20:33Craig Robinson?

  Got to have his time. And then the five-year-old has a three-year-older kid to help with, with sort of socialization.

• 1:20:42Michelle Obama?

  And it, right, and so probably got treated more like an only child. Like, got a lot of initial.

• 1:20:48Craig Robinson?

  So the three-year-old is feeling the brunt of all of this. And what I would say to Lena is start with, when you, when you're, when you give the three-year-old choices, make them two choices or three choices, however many you're gonna give them, where you don't care which one they pick.

• 1:21:10Speaker 00

  So they feel empowered.

• 1:21:12Craig Robinson?

  So they feel empowered and feel like you're treating them like a five-year-old or an older kid.

• 1:21:19Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 1:21:20Craig Robinson?

  We've always found that that worked when, when kids are acting a little bit bratty. Like, what.

• 1:21:27Speaker 00

  They're just looking for a little control.

• 1:21:29Craig Robinson?

  Little control, like, okay, like your wife said, all right, what do you need in this situation?

• 1:21:34Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 1:21:35Craig Robinson?

  And, you know, as long as it's not candy.

• 1:21:38Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 1:21:38Craig Robinson?

  We can probably figure it out. And so I just think Lena needs to be just a tad bit more strategic. And, and don't, don't take the tongue-in-cheek psychopath axe murderer to heart. Because it's unlikely to happen.

• 1:22:00Michelle Obama?

  Well, Will, thank you.

• 1:22:01Speaker 00

  You guys are so much fun.

• 1:22:03Michelle Obama?

  It was so much fun.

• 1:22:04Craig Robinson?

  This was really neat.

• 1:22:05Michelle Obama?

  The normal, regular Will Ferrell is kind of a nice guy.

• 1:22:10Speaker 00

  Right, kind of nice. I mean, normal, sort of funny.

• 1:22:13Craig Robinson?

  More normal than I would have thought.

• 1:22:16Speaker 00

  Than we thought.

• 1:22:17Michelle Obama?

  Yeah.

• 1:22:18Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 1:22:18Michelle Obama?

  Yep. So now you know, he was just staring off into space.

• 1:22:22Craig Robinson?

  Looking at the artwork. You were looking at the artwork.

• 1:22:24Speaker 00

  But now that we know each other, I'm, when I know people, I'm, I'm, I'll be funnier.

• 1:22:33Speaker 00

  If I don't know you, I'm like, I can't waste the energy right now. But now I know you, oh, I'm gonna be so funny.

• 1:23:00Craig Robinson?

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