Halle Berry

Actress Halle Berry feels still ghosted about being Conan O’Brien’s friend. Halle sits down with Conan to discuss learning how to fight back against her childhood bullies, her wide-spanning career from beauty pageants to winning the Oscar for Monster’s Ball, how a spiritual experience in India helped open her third eye, and her latest film Crime 101. Plus, Matt unveils his incredible unused White Elephant gift. 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?

  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?"

• 0:14Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 0:15Conan O'Brien?

  You know, when you own a house, you gotta fix it yourself. Sona,

• 0:17Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 0:17Conan O'Brien?

  You see this to be true, right?

• 0:19Speaker 01

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

• 0:22Conan O'Brien?

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

• 0:25Speaker 01

  It's mine, dude!

• 0:27Conan 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.

• 0:39Speaker 01

  Liberty, Liberty, Liberty.

• 0:41Conan O'Brien?

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

• 0:42Speaker 01

  Yeah, me too.

• 0:43Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah. Start your quote at LibertyMutual.com.

• 0:49Conan O'Brien?

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

• 0:52Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 0:52Conan O'Brien?

  Just accept the premise and we'll move ahead.

• 0:54Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 0:54Conan O'Brien?

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

• 1:00Speaker 01

  A vase.

• 1:01Conan O'Brien?

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

• 1:04Speaker 01

  A jacket.

• 1:06Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, nice jacket. I love a nice jacket.

• 1:07Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah, that jacket. Nice jacket.

• 1:08Conan O'Brien?

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

• 1:10Speaker 01

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

• 1:13Conan O'Brien?

  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.

• 1:24Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 1:24Conan 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.

• 1:49Speaker 01

  My name is Halle Berry, and I feel...

• 1:56Speaker 01

  Still ghosted about being Conan O'Brien's friend.

• 2:00Conan O'Brien?

  Wait, how did I ghost you?

• 2:01Speaker 01

  You ghosted me.

• 2:02Conan O'Brien?

  When did I ghost you?

• 2:03Speaker 01

  You never called me.

• 2:04Conan O'Brien?

  Well, there are issues. My wife doesn't love it when I call you. Also, in my sleep, when I yell, "Howie Berry!" Repeatedly, she gets upset.

• 2:37Conan O'Brien?

  Hey there, welcome to Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend. I am that Conan O'Brien, joined by Sonam of Sessian.

• 2:43Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 2:44Conan O'Brien?

  And a little twist here, not Matt Gourley. Yeah, we got David Hopping sitting in. Good to see you, David. Great to see you. And David is sitting in, this is very exciting, because I don't know when this airs, but last night, Matt Gourley and his wife Amanda

• 3:01Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 3:02Conan O'Brien?

  had a baby girl. Yeah. And so now they have two girls, they have their second child. And it's very exciting, we're very happy for them. It's crazy, Matt sent us a photo this morning of Amanda holding

• 3:14Speaker 01

  I know.

• 3:15Conan O'Brien?

  his new daughter, and just Amanda was...

• 3:20Speaker 01

  It enraged me.

• 3:21Conan O'Brien?

  It enraged me too.

• 3:22Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 3:22Conan O'Brien?

  She looks like she's had a full hair and makeup, and she hasn't. She's just that beautiful.

• 3:28Speaker 01

  She is gorgeous.

• 3:29Conan O'Brien?

  Gorgeous.

• 3:30Speaker 01

  Yeah. And looks completely unfazed by it.

• 3:33Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 3:33Speaker 01

  And it made me angry.

• 3:36Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, I was very, I was like, "Good God."

• 3:40Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 3:40Conan O'Brien?

  She looks beautiful. They did put false eyelashes on the daughter, which I thought was weird. And press on nails? Those really long ones? Yeah. I thought that was a little much.

• 3:52Speaker 01

  Yeah, the tanner too.

• 3:52Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, and she's, uh... Spray tan. But, um, no.

• 3:58Speaker 02

  It's a beautiful... Sorry to interject.

• 4:00Conan O'Brien?

  Oh, Jesus, I didn't think you needed to come in. I honestly didn't think you needed to interject, but go ahead.

• 4:05Speaker 02

  Well, I just have to bring something up. It's a beautiful photo of this lovely little girl. And we all have a text message, a chain going on with all of us. And we're all saying, "Oh, she looks great, she looks great." And then you wrote, "That's the face Blay makes when he levels up in Elder Scrolls 5."

• 4:21Speaker 01

  Oh, my god.

• 4:22Conan O'Brien?

  Well, no, you told the story incorrectly.

• 4:24Speaker 02

  I did?

• 4:25Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah. There's a second shot of just the baby.

• 4:28Speaker 02

  Yes, that's what I'm saying.

• 4:29Conan O'Brien?

  You didn't say that.

• 4:30Speaker 02

  Oh, okay.

• 4:31Conan O'Brien?

  And I'm just, I disagree with everything you do, and I want to go on record.

• 4:35Speaker 01

  Why is that an important detail, though?

• 4:36Conan O'Brien?

  Because there was a picture of this beautiful baby with this beautific smile.

• 4:42Speaker 02

  That's right, it looked gorgeous.

• 4:43Conan O'Brien?

  And I said to that, "That's the face Blay makes."

• 4:46Speaker 02

  When he levels up in Elder Scrolls 5.

• 4:48Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, so I just... Let me clear that up? Yeah.

• 4:51Speaker 02

  And I just want to say, you're right. Uh, but also, I'm impressed you know what Elder Scrolls 5 is.

• 4:57Speaker 01

  What did you ask?

• 4:57Conan O'Brien?

  Oh, please. Did you Google it?

• 4:59Speaker 01

  Did you text Beckett?

• 5:00Conan O'Brien?

  Guys, guys, guys, I know about all things. And I just like to... I'm a Renaissance man, okay? I don't go to Renaissance fairs, but I am a Renaissance man. Um, but let's get back to the task at hand here, which is congratulating

• 5:15Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 5:16Conan O'Brien?

  Matt and Amanda on their beautiful, uh, little girl. Yeah. Nell, I believe is her name. That's really nice. I was hoping it would be Conanina, but I think...

• 5:24Speaker 01

  Oh, god.

• 5:25Conan O'Brien?

  That has yet to fly. Maybe the next one.

• 5:27Speaker 01

  Oh, my god.

• 5:28Conan O'Brien?

  Uh, no, that's very exciting. And so, instead of Matt, we have David Hopping. David is, uh, my assistant. Yep. You called me very excited this morning because my flip phone came through. Well, we know the flip phone saga. I got a flip phone last year when preparing for the Oscars. I really wanted to focus, and I don't want to be constantly harried and harassed, um, by the thousands of people that have my phone number. So, last year I got a flip phone. Yeah. So I could really, really focus, and I just... Only five people had the number, and I could bury my other phone. Yeah. And so, I asked you several months ago to reactivate the, uh, the flip phone. Uh-huh.

• 6:10Conan O'Brien?

  And you're great, David. You do everything the minute I ask. Thank you. Let's leave it there. You wouldn't do it.

• 6:17Speaker 03

  I kept forgetting.

• 6:18Conan O'Brien?

  Asking you and you'd be like, on it. And you wouldn't do it, almost to a pathological degree. Now, is it stupid? I could just turn off the other functions on my phone. Is it stupid that I have a flip phone? Probably, but I loved it. I love flipping it open.

• 6:35Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 6:35Conan O'Brien?

  And I love looking like I'm trying to get some meth. I just love it. Or sell it, you know? It's a burner phone.

• 6:42Speaker 03

  Uh huh.

• 6:43Conan O'Brien?

  I like that maybe I could commit a crime and then hit the highway and I'm hard to trace.

• 6:48Speaker 03

  Mm hmm.

• 6:49Conan O'Brien?

  So I love this little blue flip phone that I have.

• 6:52Speaker 03

  Now it's a black one because your blue one stopped working.

• 6:56Speaker 01

  Can't you just reactivate it?

• 6:57Speaker 03

  No, like the phone, when it turn on?

• 6:59Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 7:00Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 7:01Conan O'Brien?

  But you know what's interesting? Let's get to the issue here, the crux of the issue. You wouldn't do it for the longest time and it got a little crazy because I think I brought it up maybe twice a week. And you'd say, yep. And then he just wouldn't do it. And I thought.

• 7:14Speaker 03

  I kept forgetting.

• 7:16Conan O'Brien?

  What?

• 7:16Speaker 03

  But then like you thought you had like the sickest burn. You were like, you're turning into Sona.

• 7:22Conan O'Brien?

  Why did you say that was Sona here? Why'd you say that was Sona here?

• 7:25Speaker 03

  I'm just trying to get the heat off of me.

• 7:28Conan O'Brien?

  Well, you used to famously not do things.

• 7:30Speaker 01

  I have, I have a point to make. I think you're changing the narrative a little bit. Did he really do it twice a week?

• 7:36Speaker 03

  He didn't do it twice a week.

• 7:37Speaker 01

  No, you didn't. That's the thing. You always change the narrative to make the person seem less confident.

• 7:42Conan O'Brien?

  How many times do you think I asked? Over the last three to four months?

• 7:45Speaker 03

  Um, maybe like three or four.

• 7:48Speaker 01

  No.

• 7:50Conan O'Brien?

  Absolutely not. Anyway, Sona, you admitted in a remote that you had a hard time doing something that I asked you to do.

• 7:59Speaker 01

  What is it about you that makes people not want to help you? Like the people who are supposed to help you.

• 8:04Speaker 03

  I told him I never really understood when you said you had a block about assisting him until, for whatever reason, this flip phone thing.

• 8:11Speaker 01

  I think you're the problem.

• 8:12Conan O'Brien?

  So the flip phone, there was something, but as a, as a licensed psychiatrist and psychologist, I would like to dive in on this.

• 8:19Speaker 03

  Okay.

• 8:19Conan O'Brien?

  What was it about the flip phone? Because you've never done that before, but you really did dig in in your own way. Go.

• 8:26Speaker 03

  Here's what I think it was. You got a flip phone originally.

• 8:28Conan O'Brien?

  Mm-hmm.

• 8:29Speaker 03

  Great. It was working. For whatever reason, the service stopped.

• 8:32Conan O'Brien?

  The person who was setting up our phone, I think, had never seen a cellphone before.

• 8:36Speaker 03

  I think it was his first day.

• 8:36Conan O'Brien?

  I think he snuck in the back, uh, pretended to be working there. Anyway, we had a bad experience there.

• 8:43Speaker 03

  We were there so long that I was talking to the guy trying to get the phone set up, and I couldn't see Conan, and I look, Conan's just laying on a bench by the window.

• 8:51Conan O'Brien?

  Cause we were there for more than an hour and a half.

• 8:54Speaker 01

  Oh, no.

• 8:55Conan O'Brien?

  And this person just looked absolutely dumbfounded about how to give me a phone number and, um, uh, and, and just initiate the phone. So that's what did it. We got burned there, and that's why you didn't, you thought you'd have to go back there.

• 9:09Speaker 03

  The important thing is, the phone's working now.

• 9:12Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, yeah, that's the important.

• 9:14Speaker 03

  You have a new number.

• 9:15Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah. But you know what I'll remember is your refusal to do it for such a long time. That's the part, not the fact that now it's here and I should be happy, but I'll always remember is how long it took.

• 9:27Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 9:28Conan O'Brien?

  That is my illness.

• 9:30Speaker 01

  It is.

• 9:30Conan O'Brien?

  And my talent.

• 9:31Speaker 01

  And you'll bring it up in two years.

• 9:34Conan O'Brien?

  Yes.

• 9:34Speaker 01

  And it's gonna be something he may have forgotten.

• 9:37Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 9:37Speaker 01

  Because why would anybody remember that?

• 9:39Conan O'Brien?

  I don't know why. I will, uh, I just never forget when someone around me, um, screws up. I just, it's with me forever. And on my, I think on my deathbed, and I hope this is not for a very long time. Maybe I'll even be comatose, but all of a sudden, when the end is very near, I'll just start, almost like I'm in tongues, I'll start spewing all of the mistakes that I've recorded to exercise them from my body.

• 10:04Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 10:04Conan O'Brien?

  And it'll be just whole.

• 10:06Speaker 01

  Some people poop, you.

• 10:07Conan O'Brien?

  I'm not gonna do that. I'm gonna just be.

• 10:09Speaker 01

  Don't people poop?

• 10:10Speaker 03

  Oh, when they.

• 10:11Speaker 01

  When they die. You're, that's your way of pooping.

• 10:14Conan O'Brien?

  I don't think anyone does that.

• 10:15Speaker 01

  No.

• 10:15Speaker 03

  No, I think, I think, don't they?

• 10:17Speaker 01

  Don't they poop a little? Isn't there a poop? Death poop? It's a death poop. You're death pooping with, but you with your- But you're saying words. With the things that you're holding in.

• 10:26Conan O'Brien?

  No, I've never heard that.

• 10:27Speaker 01

  No one poops? Did I make that up? No, I've heard that. I've seen two, I've seen two people die and you're right, neither one of them pooped. And Bortos on it? Yeah. Neither one of them pooped. I saw two-

• 10:38Conan O'Brien?

  How did this change? How did you do this? You totally effed up this conversation royally.

• 10:44Speaker 01

  I effed it up?

• 10:45Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 10:45Speaker 01

  No.

• 10:46Conan O'Brien?

  We were solving this whole flip phone issue and I was gonna go into a great impression of me spewing out all the-

• 10:53Speaker 01

  Oh, I'm sorry.

• 10:54Conan O'Brien?

  No, it's too late, that's not happening. But now we are into death poop.

• 10:57Speaker 02

  This occurs because all muscles, including the sphincter muscles that control bowel and bladder movements, relax immediately upon death. The release of waste is not guaranteed, but it is a normal, natural part of the postmortem process.

• 11:08Speaker 01

  Death poop? I'm right.

• 11:10Speaker 02

  Postmortem elimination.

• 11:12Conan O'Brien?

  Never heard of that.

• 11:12Speaker 01

  Well.

• 11:13Conan O'Brien?

  Okay. I think we should just end this segment. I'm really bummed out.

• 11:16Speaker 01

  Why?

• 11:17Conan O'Brien?

  No, it's just to really bum me out, death poop.

• 11:20Speaker 02

  Congratulations to Gourley on his new daughter.

• 11:24Conan O'Brien?

  Yes, hey, we were on death. What about the creation of new life?

• 11:26Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah.

• 11:27Conan O'Brien?

  There'll be no pooping there.

• 11:28Speaker 01

  Can I ask you a question?

• 11:29Conan O'Brien?

  What?

• 11:30Speaker 01

  Were you upset that when he, if you, if, if, I don't know if David apologized for it, but if he apologized for it, were you upset if he didn't mean it or that he wasn't beating himself up over it more?

• 11:40Conan O'Brien?

  I'd let people to beat themselves up over things.

• 11:41Speaker 01

  I know you do!

• 11:42Conan O'Brien?

  And you never would. You were just like, oh, yeah. I'd be like, oh, that medicine that keeps me alive, the heart medication?

• 11:48Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 11:49Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, I just didn't get it. Big deal. And you just wouldn't do it. You wouldn't say, oh, I'm sorry, Conan. That's all you had to do.

• 11:55Speaker 01

  Oh my god, in your world, you're just like this, like, I'm, everything I do is so nice and I need medicine and no one's helping me. You're evil!

• 12:02Conan O'Brien?

  There's no medication I'm on that is necessary. Nothing. Not a thing. But in my mind, I've turned it into, I need to have this nitroglycerin pill

• 12:15Conan O'Brien?

  or my failing heart will give. When probably what I was asking you for was a supplement. Where's my whey protein pill? Uh, all right.

• 12:26Speaker 01

  There, you did your voice. You're welcome. You're welcome.

• 12:29Conan O'Brien?

  Okay, my guest today is an Academy Award-winning actress you know from such movies as Monsters Ball and Die Another Day. Now you can see her in the film Crime 101.

• 12:42Conan O'Brien?

  I'm in love with this woman. You're just gonna say that right now.

• 12:50Conan O'Brien?

  Halle Berry, welcome.

• 12:56Speaker 04

  Conan, you have been one of my favorite people ever.

• 12:58Conan O'Brien?

  Oh, my God.

• 12:59Speaker 04

  I think you know this. Like, I'm not saying something.

• 13:00Conan O'Brien?

  I can't take that in emotionally or spiritually.

• 13:03Speaker 04

  It's true. It's true.

• 13:05Conan O'Brien?

  You know, I will say this.

• 13:06Speaker 04

  It's really true.

• 13:06Conan O'Brien?

  You were on the late night shows, I think, nine times you came on the show, and it was always just fantastic. One of my favorite clips is at one point, we're going back and forth, and then I kind of fake diss you, and you stand up and walk out. And I leap to try and, I mean, it's a talk show. And I leap to like, no, come back. And you committed, you like, left, but then you came back. But it was such a great moment. And I have to say, a lot of cool people, a lot of very famous people come in this building. Things are a little different today.

• 13:43Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 13:44Conan O'Brien?

  So I show up about an hour and a half ago here in the building, and everyone's freaking out that you are coming. And these are people that see, you know, big names all the time. Ted Danson does a show here, he's a big deal. He comes in, and all of a sudden, I heard all this noise downstairs. And I said, I betcha Halle Berry's here. And they said, someone said, no, I think that's Ted Danson. And I went, no, they're way too happy. And I love Ted Danson, and people here love Ted Danson. That's how off the charts things were. So, so, it's just so great to see you. You look gorgeous, as you always do. I'm gonna warn you that, uh, sitting next to you is a gentleman who's got, listen, I think we have to come out with this.

• 14:28Speaker 05

  It's a full disclosure kind of thing?

• 14:29Conan O'Brien?

  Full disclosure kind of thing. So let's hear it. This is Matt Gourley, and Matt, why don't you confess your, your love and obsession?

• 14:35Speaker 05

  Well, I just love the Bond movies, and so it's such a pleasure to have a Bond girl in here like this, and, um...

• 14:41Conan O'Brien?

  Also iconic Bond girl.

• 14:43Speaker 05

  I know.

• 14:43Conan O'Brien?

  In my opinion.

• 14:44Speaker 05

  Very iconic, very iconic scene, jinx. Anyway, I'll shut up now, that's out, we've got it. It's taken care of.

• 14:51Conan O'Brien?

  Why are your glasses fogging over?

• 14:52Speaker 05

  I don't know. Am I not in the shower right now? Okay.

• 14:58Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, I would say between, there's this, I mean, you hit so many notes in your career, but you think about it, there's this intersection of Bond Girl, which means the world to so many people, but also X-Men, Storm, and then all this crazy hardcore legit movie roles, and it all comes together, and you couldn't have planned a career like that. Do you know what I mean?

• 15:23Speaker 04

  Yeah, I know, I did not.

• 15:27Conan O'Brien?

  It'd be scary if you did.

• 15:28Speaker 04

  It'd be scary, I don't even know how you could.

• 15:29Conan O'Brien?

  If you were like seven years old and you had a chart with different intersecting circles and yarn, that would have been cool, but no, that's not, you know, it's so funny because I was thinking a lot about you today, as I do.

• 15:43Speaker 04

  See, I know you do.

• 15:44Conan O'Brien?

  Wait, your glasses are fogging, you're not even wearing glasses. I don't have glasses. My retinas are fogging up. I'm getting glaucoma.

• 15:51Speaker 04

  I know, you have never forgotten me, Conan.

• 15:53Conan O'Brien?

  I have no, one does not forget you.

• 15:56Speaker 04

  I know this.

• 15:56Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, and so, this was, you know, wait, what was I just saying? I just, my mind just...

• 16:04Speaker 04

  See, I'm telling you, you were thinking about her.

• 16:06Conan O'Brien?

  I was thinking about you today, and I think about you and yesterday, and then a couple of weeks ago. Stop reiterating it. Stop.

• 16:16Conan O'Brien?

  I have this theory that very creative, interesting people and creative souls are created by this, in childhood, not quite knowing who they are, meaning that that's where real creativity comes from, and I was just reading over your whole life story, which is really something, and you, as a child, were very dislocated in a lot of ways emotionally, and I thought...

• 16:44Speaker 04

  I'm still dislocated.

• 16:45Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, but I mean, but, yeah, but I mean, I think that leads to a creative soul. It's not always pretty, but I sometimes think that living a completely normal, happy childhood isn't always the best recipe for being creative. Do you agree with that?

• 17:02Speaker 04

  I do, I think so. I think having, always searching for something, for love, for acceptance, for belonging, I think does allow us to go really far in our business.

• 17:16Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 17:17Speaker 04

  You know, we're searching, I'm still searching, I think that's the purpose of being here, right? If ever I figure it out, I think that's when I'm in that box looking straight up.

• 17:27Conan O'Brien?

  Well, yeah, yeah. I'm gonna be buried facing down.

• 17:31Speaker 04

  I'm gonna be burned up. I don't wanna be in a box, actually. I'll finally be out of a fucking box. When I die.

• 17:40Conan O'Brien?

  So you wanna be burned up and then put through like a snow blower and shot all over the place?

• 17:45Speaker 04

  All over everybody.

• 17:46Conan O'Brien?

  That's, wow, okay.

• 17:47Speaker 04

  That's what I want. So much of my family's getting when I die.

• 17:54Conan O'Brien?

  So many people are gonna turn out for that ceremony. I'm covered in Halle Berry! This took a crazy turn. I didn't think this was coming, but that's what just happened. No, but I was thinking about it. You, born to white mom, black dad, right? And then not really much of a relationship with your dad. And this childhood of, I know your mom, you're in a, I took you to an all-white neighborhood. So that's a lot of dislocation, I would think. And a lot of like, wait a minute, what's going on? I need to figure out who I am.

• 18:28Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 18:28Conan O'Brien?

  Your dad's family didn't wanna have much to do with you guys, is that right?

• 18:32Speaker 04

  They didn't wanna have much to do with my mom.

• 18:34Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 18:35Speaker 04

  Because she was white. But I was really close to my grandparents.

• 18:38Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 18:38Speaker 04

  My dad's mom and father. But the thing, the thing about that kind of childhood was, looking like me, obviously being black, but having a white mother, all girls, kids, you know, you wanna be like your mom, right? But it was painfully impossible for me to be anything like my mother, right? She was blonde, blue eyes, like everything I wasn't.

• 18:56Conan O'Brien?

  And your mom was born in Liverpool?

• 18:58Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 18:59Conan O'Brien?

  That's, I mean, I never knew that. So your mom doesn't even sound like you when you're growing up.

• 19:04Speaker 04

  Well, she did, because they came here very early, so she didn't really sound, she kinda lost, like, her family really, you didn't still sound like that. But we looked nothing alike, and I could never achieve that, nobody, I mean, I used to walk around with like, a yellow towel around my head, pretending I had blonde hair. You know, I just wanted to be like her. And so I felt very confused about my identity, growing up. You know, even though we lived in an all-black neighborhood, I still, I wanted to be like my mother.

• 19:32Conan O'Brien?

  Mm-hmm.

• 19:33Speaker 04

  You know, I think that's a very natural state of being, and I never could be, and I think that's... Led to my feeling of, you know, not belonging and not really knowing who I was. And if my mother's white and I'm black, like, what does that mean? Who am I? Am I really black? Am I half-black? Am I mixed? Am I not mixed? I don't feel very white. I don't look very white, but yet I have this white mother. Like, it's part of me. Like, there was a lot of confusion growing up. How would I identify? And it was actually that white mother that really made me realize, you are not white. Yes, you are half me and, you know. And she knew I was proud of that. But she told me, you will be identified as you are. You will be perceived as black. You are black.

• 20:15Speaker 04

  And if you accept this part of you, your life will be indelibly easier. Because she saw me struggling to identify myself some way. We all need to identify with something, right? To feel a part of something. And so I realized pretty around the middle school years, I realized I was black. And that was okay, that I didn't have a black mother and that I would never be like her and that I was. I had a black fifth grade teacher that helped me also realize, you're amazing, just as you are.

• 20:44Conan O'Brien?

  This fifth grade teacher was so important to you. She became a big part of your life.

• 20:47Speaker 04

  She did, yeah. A big part of my life. She's now my kid's godmother and she's still a part of my life. Yeah.

• 20:53Conan O'Brien?

  That's amazing.

• 20:54Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 20:54Conan O'Brien?

  I do not have that relationship with my fifth grade teacher.

• 20:58Speaker 04

  Do you remember your fifth grade teacher?

• 21:00Conan O'Brien?

  I do, and I've got the police looking for her.

• 21:05Conan O'Brien?

  No, no, I'm kidding. I'm thinking fourth grade. And you know who you are. Anyway, we'll get into that later. Meaning we'll never get into that.

• 21:16Conan O'Brien?

  But, you know, it's interesting because when you, when a kid that young, I think, is struggling to figure out, feels off balance with such an elemental thing at such an early age, they start looking for signals. They start looking for things, maybe harder than a kid who's completely comfortable would. And for you, it's watching movies. You're watching movies, you're watching, you know, whatever's going to come on television or whatever you can see in the theater.

• 21:44Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 21:44Conan O'Brien?

  And, and... That's where kind of this begins. This, this, this road you get on.

• 21:50Speaker 04

  I think so. We were latchkey kids, you know, my mom was busy working. She was a single mom, so she was always working. So it was a lot of get home, let yourself in, figure out your food. You know, figure out your fun, do your homework if you want to. You don't, you don't.

• 22:07Conan O'Brien?

  It's all cool.

• 22:09Speaker 04

  Uh, yeah, so we grew up, we were very independent, you know? And I also got into a lot of fights. Growing up, I was busy fighting a lot.

• 22:17Conan O'Brien?

  Physical fights?

• 22:17Speaker 04

  Physical fights, yeah, bullied. Mm-hmm.

• 22:20Conan O'Brien?

  And you would fight back? Were you good at fighting back?

• 22:23Speaker 04

  I, I didn't fight back at first. There's a story that, uh, really, the moment when I decided to fight, I was, one day, do you want to hear this story?

• 22:32Conan O'Brien?

  I do.

• 22:33Speaker 04

  Okay, okay, so one day, I, I was getting bullied quite a bit. And I would always know that I was gonna get my ass kicked because they would come and tell me, "After school, we're gonna kick your ass." And I'd be like, "Okay." "Thank you for letting me know."

• 22:47Conan O'Brien?

  Was this all because of the color of your skin?

• 22:49Speaker 04

  That, and I was not, um, still not like a shrinking violet.

• 22:54Conan O'Brien?

  Yep.

• 22:55Speaker 04

  So if you said something to me, I'm gonna say something back.

• 22:57Conan O'Brien?

  Okay.

• 22:58Speaker 04

  So that probably got my ass kicked a few times.

• 23:00Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 23:01Speaker 04

  But this one particular day, this, um, really tall, like this girl was already like six feet tall in the, in the sixth grade, came to me and said, "Yeah, you're gonna, we're gonna kick your ass after school, just so you know." And I said, "Okay, sounds good."

• 23:15Conan O'Brien?

  This is all very, I love that it's like, gee, can we schedule that in?

• 23:18Speaker 05

  Yeah. I'll put it in my planner.

• 23:20Conan O'Brien?

  I have something at 2:15. I could do 2:40, 2:40 works. Ass kicking, 2:40.

• 23:27Speaker 04

  Ass kicking.

• 23:27Speaker 05

  Also, six foot girl making me think, was this you?

• 23:30Speaker 04

  Yeah, I know. No red hair.

• 23:32Speaker 05

  Okay.

• 23:33Conan O'Brien?

  Very funny.

• 23:34Speaker 05

  All right.

• 23:34Conan O'Brien?

  And yes. Go ahead.

• 23:36Speaker 04

  So, I get, I'm on the bus, they're on the bus, I know what's happening. I get off, and sure enough, she gets off and two other girls get off. And then like three boys get off too. And I thought, "That's interesting." Get off the bus, and sure enough, I'm walking home, got my head held low. I know it's coming, I just don't know when the first thing, the first hit's coming, but I know it's coming. And out of nowhere, I just feel like on the top of my head, that's how tall she is, just like boom. And I like did like the wiggle down, you know?

• 24:04Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, yeah. You're trying to do an accordion.

• 24:09Speaker 04

  Became half of myself.

• 24:10Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 24:11Speaker 04

  Hit the ground, and when I was down there... She then ripped my shirt off. And then I realized why the boys were there. They were gonna see something.

• 24:21Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 24:21Speaker 04

  Ripped my shirt off and I just have my little breast buds out. And the humiliation was so great. And I felt I could not do anything. I allowed this to happen to myself. I just knew it was gonna coming and I just accepted it. I didn't know the stripping of the clothes was coming, but it all was just so terrible. And they all continued, the boys included, then laughing and kicking me until I ended up in the sewer, which was like the open water that ran outside of our house. We were like in a little country suburb. And there I was in the gutter as they ran off laughing. And when I got out that day, that was the day that I said, no more. I am never going to accept that somebody's gonna kick my ass. And I said, okay, well then let's do that. And that was the day I started fighting back.

• 25:04Speaker 04

  And I didn't fight back necessarily, fight with fire. I decided I was going to control everything at the school, right? I was going to be, because part of the reason I was letting myself get beat up is because I didn't feel good enough. I didn't feel on par with these kids, right? I felt like somehow in some twisted way, I deserved that or I didn't belong there. And I decided I'm going to be the class president. I was gonna be on the honor roll. I was gonna be the head cheerleader. I was gonna be the editor of the newspaper. Like I did all the things so that I could not be denied. And through that, little by little, respect grew for me. And I felt good about myself. And so therefore I, I felt that from everybody else. And by the time I left that school, I felt like I was now running the shit.

• 25:48Speaker 04

  I was like in charge. And that's how I dealt with feeling less than, allowing myself to be beat up.

• 26:02Conan O'Brien?

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

• 26:04Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 26:04Conan 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.

• 26:19Speaker 01

  Nice.

• 26:19Conan 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.

• 26:28Speaker 01

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

• 26:32Conan O'Brien?

  I've been tooling around in an Ioniq 5N, which I love.

• 26:36Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 26:37Conan O'Brien?

  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?

• 26:52Speaker 01

  Hello.

• 26:52Conan 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-trac 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.

• 27:27Conan O'Brien?

  Coca-Cola Zero Sugar is so good, it's almost impossible not to finish it before the meal arrives. It's just too good to wait. That happens to me sometimes.

• 27:35Speaker 01

  Me, too.

• 27:36Conan O'Brien?

  You can try rules like no sipping until the appetizer arrives, or you tell your friend, "Don't let me touch my glass," but every time you're staring at an empty glass... So if you've ever finished your Coke Zero before the first fry hits the table, you're among friends. It happens. Occupational hazard with Coke Zero.

• 27:53Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 27:54Conan O'Brien?

  Real Coca-Cola taste, zero sugar, too good to wait. Enjoy an ice-cold Coca-Cola Zero Sugar today.

• 28:04Conan O'Brien?

  Sona, you have to admit, the holidays, it's really about hanging with the people you love.

• 28:10Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 28:11Conan O'Brien?

  And getting to be yourself. Not going to some stuffy holiday party where you need to conform to what the man wants you to think about the holidays.

• 28:19Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 28:20Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, it's about being yourself. Turn your holiday time into Miller time by enjoying a Miller Lite in a place where you're free to enjoy yourself on a walk with a cousin. With a cousin? Why are they getting all specific about...

• 28:31Speaker 01

  Because it's family.

• 28:32Conan O'Brien?

  But what about a niece or a nephew?

• 28:33Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 28:36Conan O'Brien?

  Like a walk with an ex-wife. I don't know. I mean, they're just throwing, that's a weird, they just made a very specific choice.

• 28:42Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 28:43Conan O'Brien?

  Now's the time for those unexpected holiday side guests and enjoy a great tasting light beer. 'Tis Miller time, as Dickens wrote. Miller Lite is brewed for taste, the taste you can depend on. The original light beer since 1975 and still iconic more than 50 years later. I like to be with my bros, my chums, my posse, crack open a Miller Lite, take a swig, a sip, look around and see my friends. We've known each other forever and we're just hanging out.

• 29:10Speaker 04

  Yeah, you guys are just doing chest bumps and high-fiving.

• 29:13Conan O'Brien?

  Miller Lite is great taste done right. Go to millerlite.com/conan to find delivery options near you, or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. 'Tis Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

• 29:34Conan O'Brien?

  There are those forks in the road where, you know, that terrible experience you had, things can get worse after that or they can start to get better.

• 29:42Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 29:42Conan O'Brien?

  And you made this decision, all right, things get better now.

• 29:45Speaker 04

  Yep, yep.

• 29:46Conan O'Brien?

  That's what's gonna happen.

• 29:47Speaker 04

  Yep.

• 29:48Conan O'Brien?

  And-

• 29:48Speaker 04

  And those are pivotal moments in one's life.

• 29:51Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 29:51Speaker 04

  And it was my fifth grade teacher, Yvonne, who was there to help me come up with this strategy. She helped me realize how I could, you know, leaving the school wasn't an option. So it was, how could I fight back without going to their level and using violence and, you know, figuring out how I was gonna like murder all these kids. It was more about how do you really fight back that really will benefit you as you grow?

• 30:16Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 30:16Speaker 04

  Not just beat these kids, not about these kids, really.

• 30:19Conan O'Brien?

  Well, also, best revenge is success.

• 30:21Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 30:22Conan O'Brien?

  You know, having an amazing life and being a superstar.

• 30:25Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 30:26Conan O'Brien?

  I'll get there.

• 30:27Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 30:33Speaker 01

  I'll show you all. I'm real pretty.

• 30:39Conan O'Brien?

  You know, I was thinking, your early foray into being seen is in beauty pageants.

• 30:47Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 30:47Conan O'Brien?

  You know, and so it's interesting to me that, which you were very successful at, you know, and to be, to have people looking at you that way.

• 30:58Speaker 04

  Aren't you successful in beauty pageants?

• 31:01Conan O'Brien?

  Were you not? Was it, I mean, how did you, you took that route and then you're, you're being seen that way, but you must have known, no, I've got this whole other,

• 31:14Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 31:15Conan O'Brien?

  I've got this, this amazing toolset that isn't even being utilized in me just being in this pageant.

• 31:21Speaker 04

  Yeah, that's, you know, sometimes you kind of fall into something, you don't really know how you got there.

• 31:25Conan O'Brien?

  Yep.

• 31:26Speaker 04

  That was kind of my story.

• 31:27Conan O'Brien?

  Mm-hmm.

• 31:27Speaker 04

  I don't really know how I, well, my boyfriend at the time entered me in my very first one because he wanted to have a girlfriend who was a queen, a beauty queen.

• 31:37Speaker 06

  What the fuck?

• 31:38Conan O'Brien?

  He just, he just wanted that tiara. I want a tiara.

• 31:42Speaker 06

  So weird.

• 31:43Conan O'Brien?

  You're expensive. Because does that make him the king then, just by law? That's so weird, yeah, I guess. Yeah, the queen consort. That's a strange calculation.

• 31:51Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 31:52Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah. But, um.

• 31:54Speaker 04

  So of course I show up, I get this letter in the mail that says, one day you've been accepted to the Miss Teen Ohio Pageant. I was like, oh, really? How did I get in that? He's like, oh, I sent your, your, um, high school picture. I sent it in for you.

• 32:05Conan O'Brien?

  Oh, wow, okay, okay.

• 32:06Speaker 04

  That was a good thing. So once you got in, I got in. And the thing about beauty pageants, when you win one, then you have to go to the next one. Like, there's, there's always a step next, right? So I went on a string of winning and every one I got into was just because I'd won the one before.

• 32:20Conan O'Brien?

  Right.

• 32:20Speaker 04

  So I had to go to the next one, then you had to go to the next one, and then finally I lost and it stopped.

• 32:26Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 32:27Speaker 04

  And I went on to my life, but that was a good.

• 32:29Conan O'Brien?

  And you were never heard from again.

• 32:31Conan O'Brien?

  I don't know who you are right now.

• 32:34Speaker 04

  But it was a good way to start. I mean, you know, I got to travel. I went to every state in this country, which was really good. And I had to find where the best bananas foster was in every state that I went in before internet. So that was a hard thing to do.

• 32:49Conan O'Brien?

  We'd like to know.

• 32:50Speaker 04

  I had to find it. In each city, I had to find where they sold, made the best bananas foster for our group. So I was very resourceful.

• 32:57Conan O'Brien?

  Bananas foster is, does that have caramelized? Is it the one you light on fire?

• 33:01Speaker 04

  Yeah, you light it on fire. It's got bananas and brown sugar and rum and butter and cinnamon and vanilla. And you put it over vanilla ice cream. You make a thing with the cooked bananas. It's like so good.

• 33:15Conan O'Brien?

  Can we have that? Or just some rum.

• 33:18Speaker 04

  Skip all the other.

• 33:19Conan O'Brien?

  Screw the banana and shit. I want that rum.

• 33:24Conan O'Brien?

  So then there's this leap I don't understand, which you go from that experience to, and I know there's a lot that must happen in between, but Jungle Fever, Spike Lee, when does that, how does that happen?

• 33:36Speaker 04

  How does that happen? Well, I, because I came from beauty pageants, I, when I realized, I was studying at Second City and one of my teachers there said, you know, you should be an actor. And I really didn't. I said, really? He said, yeah. So when I got this chance to audition for Spike, it was to play his, you know, his girlfriend. And the thing was, you know, pretty girl is his wife. And I was like, okay, that got me in there. But when I got to meet Spike, I said, I know you want me to read that, but can I read the crack hoe part? Can I read the other part? And he was like, no, I don't, you're not the crack hoe. I said, I am the crack hoe. I am the crack hoe.

• 34:09Conan O'Brien?

  You have no idea, Spike.

• 34:10Speaker 04

  I am the crack hoe.

• 34:12Conan O'Brien?

  Not crack, it's bananas foster. That's my crack, but it's still the same idea. So how did you convince him?

• 34:20Speaker 04

  I just said, you know, I, I am really more than the pretty girl. I really, I want to show you that. Let me, let me go. He goes, okay, go in the bathroom, wash all your stuff off and maybe I can see you as the crack hoe. So I did that and I came out and then I got to audition for that part. And he was like, you are the crack hoe.

• 34:39Conan O'Brien?

  Congratulations. Ultimate compliment.

• 34:42Speaker 04

  You won. You're the crack hoe.

• 34:43Conan O'Brien?

  You know, I'm getting crack hoe right now. Congratulations. From beauty queen to crack hoe.

• 34:49Speaker 04

  You know, that's, that's like a journey. But I also knew if I was gonna really be doing this thing seriously, I felt like I needed to come out of the gate being more than, speaking of boxes, I did not want to get put in that box.

• 35:02Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 35:03Speaker 04

  You know?

• 35:04Conan O'Brien?

  But I think if you look back at the trajectory you already had and what you'd been dealing with, because you had had to fight all those battles, you're in a situation where most people are just thrilled to be in the Spike Lee movie.

• 35:17Speaker 04

  Right.

• 35:17Conan O'Brien?

  Do you know what I mean? And pretty girlfriend in the Spike Lee movie is just fine, thank you. But to be in that situation, say, no, actually, over there is where I think I need to be. Director, writer-director, auteur. That, it all comes from, this, it goes back to this same idea, discomfort, a feeling of being unsettled as a kid. I think that builds this, this strength. And where you're, nah, I'm not gonna do that. I want, I need to be over there. Even if maybe people around you are saying, don't rock the boat, you know? This is the part you could have.

• 35:54Speaker 04

  Yeah. And I knew, being a black woman, you know, it's the bottom. It is really the bottom. And you have nothing to lose, only to gain by rocking the boat. And demanding more and asking for more and being loud about it. You have nothing to lose because you're already at the bottom. And that's really how I felt.

• 36:17Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah. It's unbelievable that, I'm gonna skip ahead to Monsters Ball, for which you win an Oscar, and it's a historic Oscar. It is a seminal moment in like, film history, history. It's, it's a big moment. When you see that part, do you think, this could be huge for me? Did that resonate with you? Or did you go into it thinking, oh, this is another part I can play and I'm gonna do it? And were you, maybe it was hard to see how far this could go?

• 36:50Speaker 04

  Yeah, I can't say I thought Oscar. I don't think anybody can think, oh, this is gonna be an Oscar. You know, I don't know if you think that, that's like insane. But I felt like this was either gonna be one of the best things I ever did, or it would end my career.

• 37:04Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 37:04Speaker 04

  But that's where I like to live, on that edge of risk big, win big. I've known you cannot win big if you don't risk big. And if you don't even try, you're surely gonna lose, so. People around me said, because at that time I hadn't done nudity and the sex scene was like a big, like it had a big red light on it, sex scene, like it was such a big part of that movie, that people close to me said, you know, this could really be, you know,

• 37:32Conan O'Brien?

  This could hurt you.

• 37:32Speaker 04

  This could really hurt you. This could not be a good thing. It was a little, small movie, no money. It's like a little indie, like it could be all for nothing, right? And I had the feeling that I, I related to the character. I wanted to play the part. And I said, if this ends my career, then I'm ending my own career on my own beliefs, right? No, you know, it's what I wanted to do. And if that's the case, then, then I, I have a knowing, then that's what it's meant to be. And this, this isn't for me then, right? I, I, I have a knowing of that, that i, i, i, if it ended it, then I'm, I'm in the wrong place. And it would be the universe showing me to move or where to go, right?

• 38:15Speaker 04

  I didn't, I didn't think that there could be a negative, no matter what, how it turned out.

• 38:20Conan O'Brien?

  Also, as you just said, you have that, I've, you know, I've got nothing to lose here. It's a great attitude.

• 38:28Speaker 04

  Yep.

• 38:29Conan O'Brien?

  It's a great attitude, which you came, you come by that the hard way. You come by it very honestly, but it's such a, you know,

• 38:38Speaker 04

  And you know what?

• 38:38Conan O'Brien?

  Position of strength, yeah.

• 38:39Speaker 04

  Yeah. And when, and when you really believe that, and I do, I can still sit here 30 years later, at 60 this year, not afraid to do anything really, because I still feel that way.

• 38:48Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 38:49Speaker 04

  I have nothing to lose. Nothing. And that is a really empowering feeling. And that has allowed me to try many different things over my career. Didn't always win, but it didn't mean I lost. It didn't turn out the way I wanted it to.

• 39:02Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 39:03Speaker 04

  Yeah. But it didn't mean I lost. I'm still here.

• 39:06Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 39:06Speaker 04

  You know, and it's just like, okay, well, that didn't work. Let's try something, you know, it, it, it, it doesn't, nothing can level me.

• 39:14Conan O'Brien?

  Right.

• 39:14Speaker 04

  When you're at the bottom.

• 39:15Conan O'Brien?

  I say that to young people.

• 39:16Speaker 04

  You're already out down there.

• 39:17Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah. I say that to young people all the time, which is, uh, I tell them, you don't get dinged as much as you think you will be for failing.

• 39:26Speaker 04

  And in order to get it right, you need more shots on goal. So you have to keep trying.

• 39:31Conan O'Brien?

  And then you're getting into sports and I don't know what you're talking about.

• 39:34Speaker 04

  I don't know either. I just know what that means.

• 39:36Conan O'Brien?

  Someone help me here. Matt? Oh, forget it.

• 39:39Speaker 01

  No, not me.

• 39:40Conan O'Brien?

  There's no one here. Oh, Edward. Great analogy. Okay, there you go.

• 39:43Speaker 04

  You know what shots on goal means. You need more chance, you have to keep trying.

• 39:46Conan O'Brien?

  There's a ball of some kind. Look, this interview is over. Completely lost me.

• 39:56Conan O'Brien?

  I, you know, that moment, I still remember that moment when you won. And like I say, it was a historic win. The first, you know, it's so funny because I was writing notes. You know, like I write notes and I can't always read my own handwriting. I was writing them real fast and ideas and stuff. And then I wrote down on a piece of paper like yesterday when I was thinking about you coming. And what I wrote was supposed to say first black person to win best actress. And what I wrote was first woman to win best actress.

• 40:33Conan O'Brien?

  And of course, I'm writing real fast and I just dropped. And then this morning, I'm looking it over and I'm like, wow, first woman to win best actress.

• 40:41Speaker 04

  That's amazing.

• 40:42Conan O'Brien?

  How did she pull that off? But, you know, it's so interesting because that was such an electric moment and so real. Because you really, I don't think, had thought that might happen. And you were...

• 40:56Speaker 04

  Sure, I wasn't. Because back then, the Golden Globe was the precursor and I didn't win the Golden Globe. So that was the night I knew, well, my chances are over. This has been fun, though. This little movie that they thought could have leveled me, got me this far. Like, it was done then.

• 41:10Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 41:11Speaker 04

  One of my only memories of that night, actually, is Russell Crowe. When I walked up to get my Oscar, he saw that I had left the building. And he just looked at me and he was like, breathe, mate. Just breathe, mate. You gotta breathe, mate.

• 41:28Conan O'Brien?

  I was with him in a Lamaze class. That is exactly how he sounds. That is, I mean.

• 41:35Speaker 04

  And it woke me up to, I gotta breathe and I go, yeah, I gotta turn and I gotta talk to these people.

• 41:40Conan O'Brien?

  You're a very spiritual person and I've always known that about you whenever I talk to you. I mean, there is an aura around this woman. There, you have this, you're connected to something that cannot be explained. And I know that you've talked about having this life-changing experience in India. Were you, were you like on a soul-searching mission when you went to India? And were you talking to a shaman? Were you talking to like a religious figure? What happened?

• 42:06Speaker 04

  How do you know about that?

• 42:07Conan O'Brien?

  I've been following you.

• 42:10Speaker 04

  How do you know about this Conan?

• 42:11Conan O'Brien?

  You know that weird lady that you always see? About six, about nine feet behind you? Scribbling in a notebook? First woman to win best actress?

• 42:25Conan O'Brien?

  Can you believe a woman won best actress?

• 42:27Speaker 04

  You're not even accurate.

• 42:29Conan O'Brien?

  No.

• 42:31Conan O'Brien?

  I was just reading all this stuff about you and it said that you had this great life-changing moment in 2017. 2017 and it sounded kind of fascinating. Like I know, I'm a skeptical person, but I'm also in a weird way, not a skeptical person. And I'm very much interested when someone else has an experience like that. I want to know what happened.

• 42:51Speaker 04

  Okay, well, I, yeah, I was there on a, on a, on a thing and I decided to go to, after we left Mumbai, I wanted to go to this wellness center in Kerala. So I did, and there was a shaman there and he took me and my group. We were there like the end of our week. He took us all out to meditate, like right on the edge of the ocean. And you do it at like three o'clock in the morning when all the high priestess and the Buddhas are meditating. It's the highest vibration, right? So we're out there at the edge of the ocean. We're on our mats. I have like four people with me. We start, he says it's gonna be a long meditation, like we're gonna go three, four hours into it. So we're in it, we're in it. I'm gonna be about an hour in, I'm still in it, but I just kind of, kind of look around. All my people are like.

• 43:30Speaker 04

  They're no longer.

• 43:31Conan O'Brien?

  Are these friends of yours or is it like agent, manager, accountant?

• 43:35Speaker 04

  No, they're friends of mine.

• 43:36Conan O'Brien?

  I'm just picturing me bringing Rick and Gavin.

• 43:39Speaker 04

  Oh my God.

• 43:40Conan O'Brien?

  You know. Michael Carlin, all these guys in suits. All right, everybody, let's get in the lotus position.

• 43:49Speaker 04

  They're on their phones.

• 43:50Conan O'Brien?

  They're on their phones. But anyway, so, so these are friends.

• 43:54Speaker 04

  They're friends.

• 43:54Conan O'Brien?

  And they're not having it.

• 43:55Speaker 04

  They're out. They're, they're like, it's too damn early. They're sleeping. But I'm still in this meditation. So finally, he comes to me and he says, "For the last hour, I want you to put your eyes at, you know, like 20%, just so you can kind of see, but, you know, stay in your meditation." So he keeps guiding me and talking. So all of a sudden, he starts to walk in front of me. And he walks to the edge of the ocean. And I sort of see him out there, but I'm in my, my state and I'm meditating, doing what I'm doing. And I look and I see that there's a shadowy figure that comes to him. And I'm thinking, where did that come from? It looked like it came out of the ocean. But I'm thinking, while I'm in the meditation, well, how could that be? Like, what, what would come out of the ocean? Is that an alien? Like, what, what am I seeing here?

• 44:40Speaker 04

  So it stays out there for a while. And about 20 minutes later, he starts to walk back towards me. And that person or that figure just kind of goes away. And I thought, now, what, now what the hell is that? Who was that, right? So when he, when the meditation is over, he says, "So, you know, what happened?" And I said to him what I just saw. And he said, "Oh, yes." It's what I thought, "Come with me." So he takes me into a little room. And he said, "You know what just happened out there?" I said, "No idea. Where did that man or that person or that thing come from?" And he said, "That was your third eye opening. You saw my aura." He said, "Was it black?" I said, "Yep." He said, "That was my aura. You now are in the club of your third eye opening."

• 45:23Speaker 04

  And there's a good, there's positive and there's a negative to this third eye. You're going to see so many things you couldn't imagine you would see. You're going to understand things instantly in a way you never used to before. But the bad part is, the negative is... You're gonna have to act on it. And that's gonna get you in a lot of trouble. That's gonna make you unpopular. It's gonna have you have a really hard time in relationships with people. A lot of them will come and go as a result because you will no longer be able to be silent when you know something, or you see something, or you feel something. And I said, even if I try not to say anything, he said, you will see, you will not. You will not be able to be quiet.

• 46:07Speaker 04

  And Conan, that is the thing that has happened since that time. I can no longer be quiet. And people have come and gone as a result. I've ended relationships as a result, like seemingly out of nowhere, because I saw the truth of the situation, right? And there are some times when I see the good in a situation and I go down a path and I embrace something that everybody's like, what? You're doing that? I'm like, I see it. This is gonna be great for me. I see it, and it turns out to be great. So I've learned to trust that this third eye, this thing I have, it's real and I got it. And I just trust it now. When someone leaves, or I tell someone, you know, this, this is done, or I stand up

• 46:52Speaker 04

  for myself, or I switch my management, or I change whatever I'm changing, I now have a knowing that there's this other force, that there's this eye that I'm seeing clearly for myself. Can't see for you or anyone, but I can see clearly for myself. And I, and I let it guide me.

• 47:12Conan O'Brien?

  Well, this is why I ghosted you. Because I realized you had that, you had that third eye, and I, I couldn't handle it.

• 47:19Speaker 04

  No, you don't wanna ghost me, Conan.

• 47:23Conan O'Brien?

  Now I'm terrified that I did ghost you.

• 47:25Speaker 04

  You don't wanna ghost me.

• 47:28Conan O'Brien?

  But it, it's, um.

• 47:29Speaker 04

  You don't wanna ghost me.

• 47:30Conan O'Brien?

  I, okay, this is something that I've come to realize at my age, and I'm, I'm a bit older than you, uh, but I, I like it now. I just realize, you know, we have this culture that just.

• 47:47Conan O'Brien?

  You know glorifies being young and being young was great. But I just feel like things make more sense to me now and I know myself now. And I feel like a little bit, that's what you're describing. I, I can't say I've had that profound a conversion, but I've had a subtler feeling of. Yeah, there's, you know, there's some aches and pains now when I do my weird comedy moves. But I, I enjoy this period now more than the intensity.

• 48:22Conan O'Brien?

  And I don't know, kind of sometimes maniacal misdirection of twenties, thirties, forties. This, this feels, it's a calmer place to be.

• 48:32Speaker 04

  I, I, I, I describe it by saying I have zero fucks to give anymore. About things and what people think or how they feel about the choices I make or what I'm doing or how I'm doing my life, you know, and that is a really empowered place to be able to say, hey. And I know you don't care that much about me anyway. So why do I give so much energy to what you're thinking about me or making choices that satisfy you or make you happy? Like, you know, that's a really good place. And I can't say I was always there. I've been the dancing bear and I've been trying to make everybody love me and like me and, you know, fit in and it's really, that, that's exhausting when you go through life that way.

• 49:12Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah. And also this profession.

• 49:14Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 49:15Conan O'Brien?

  Is, it is a profession.

• 49:17Speaker 04

  Agreed to that, yeah.

• 49:18Conan O'Brien?

  And it's about how much am I being liked at this moment versus that other moment versus the next moment and it can get in your head.

• 49:25Speaker 04

  Yeah. And when you can really not care, like really, don't just say you don't care.

• 49:31Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 49:31Speaker 04

  When you can really not care.

• 49:33Conan O'Brien?

  Really not care.

• 49:35Speaker 04

  That is like a really powerful place to be.

• 49:38Conan O'Brien?

  I can't say I have zero fucks to give. I have like three fucks to give.

• 49:42Speaker 04

  Okay. What are, what are your fucks?

• 49:45Speaker 04

  I want to know what Conan's fucks are.

• 49:46Conan O'Brien?

  I mean, I believe I can have sex three more times. In your life? In my life. Huh. Yeah. I mean, I've been to a doctor and he said, I think you got three, three left. And he did measurements and things and he said, there's three left here. Oh, no. Yeah. No, it's true. I said, can I get a new cartridge? And they're like, no. You are out of ink. So I'm being very careful with how I use them.

• 50:10Speaker 04

  God.

• 50:14Conan O'Brien?

  I'm sorry, Halle Murray's like, I haven't seen Conan a while and I now know why.

• 50:20Speaker 05

  Yes, she read your aura.

• 50:21Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, you read my aura, I'm like, what made you come into this?

• 50:24Speaker 04

  I know.

• 50:26Conan O'Brien?

  Let's talk about Crime 101. You made this film with Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo. These are fantastic people I would think to work with.

• 50:33Speaker 04

  Oh my God, fantastic. Fantastic.

• 50:35Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, and it's just sounds like a really fun movie. It really does sound fun.

• 50:42Speaker 04

  It's very adult, too, you know? I think we sometimes, I've got two kids, so I've searched to find adult themed movies.

• 50:50Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 50:50Speaker 04

  You know, I've had two decades of cartoons and animated movies and it's really nice to be a part of making a real adult. Sort of a throwback of Heat and like very.

• 51:02Conan O'Brien?

  It's kind of got a gritty LA.

• 51:03Speaker 04

  Gritty LA, it's like a love letter to LA. We never get to shoot in LA. I'm so happy working here. Let's go to work and come home like normal people.

• 51:11Conan O'Brien?

  That's no small thing.

• 51:12Speaker 04

  No, it's huge.

• 51:13Conan O'Brien?

  To shoot in Los Angeles because everybody is now, you know, they're in like, whatever, they're in Greenland and they pretend that it's, I mean, they will be once we own it, but they're in, I'm looking into it.

• 51:27Speaker 04

  You're gonna buy it?

• 51:28Conan O'Brien?

  We're gonna move our, once we conquer Greenland, I'm moving the podcast studio there. You're gonna love it. Lots to eat.

• 51:36Speaker 04

  Lots to eat.

• 51:37Conan O'Brien?

  Not a wide variety, but there's a lot of it. I've been there, you know, I did a show there. I did a show there.

• 51:43Speaker 04

  I know, I know.

• 51:45Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, I went to Greenland when this, a couple of years ago.

• 51:48Speaker 04

  The first time?

• 51:49Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, the first time.

• 51:50Speaker 04

  Which is still very relevant.

• 51:51Conan O'Brien?

  The first time our president was talking about Greenland. I went there to check it out and talked to a real estate agent and walked around and it's, you can see it all on one of our travel shows, but it was, it was a profound experience. But I was saying that most, you don't take it for granted because nobody shoots much in Los Angeles anymore. And so to shoot an LA movie about LA, and this sounds like a joke, but if someone shoots a movie that's a love letter to LA, these days there's a 90% chance they are shooting it in the Netherlands. Do you know what I mean? And then they just throw some palm trees in there. So it's amazing that you got to do that.

• 52:29Speaker 04

  Really got to shoot it here. And it makes all the difference in the movie, too. You feel like you're, you know, where you're supposed to be.

• 52:36Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 52:36Speaker 04

  And I got to see my kids every night, which was about to go to France to work. I will not be seeing my kids every night. And that's always, you know, that's how, it's what it's become, you know?

• 52:46Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah. Would, can they go with you or it's just too hard for them?

• 52:50Speaker 04

  It's hard, you know, they're at the age, my daughter is about to be, she's 18 next month.

• 52:53Conan O'Brien?

  Oh, yeah.

• 52:53Speaker 04

  She's going to college.

• 52:54Conan O'Brien?

  She's got her own, she's got her own things to do.

• 52:56Speaker 04

  She's like, no, thank you, Mom.

• 52:57Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 52:58Speaker 04

  Uh, my son's 12, he'll probably come because his dad's French, she speaks French, so he likes France. So he'll probably come for a little bit.

• 53:05Conan O'Brien?

  When my kids turned 18, uh, they said, we never want to see you again.

• 53:12Conan O'Brien?

  This has been nice, it's been real. Way too many bits every day in the kitchen. Uh, my daughter's 22 and my son's 20.

• 53:19Speaker 04

  Oh, wow.

• 53:20Conan O'Brien?

  So they, uh, they're off in school and doing their own thing and constantly, you know?

• 53:24Speaker 04

  And how, how, how did you feel? I'm, I'm, I'm dealing with my daughter leaving. How did you feel? Did you?

• 53:29Conan O'Brien?

  I'm someone who can get very disconnected from how I feel. Meaning I'm really good at sublimating things and pushing it down. So, uh, my daughter, when she left, cause she was the first and she's like my little girl. And then suddenly she's going off into the world. I had a hard time with it. And then I think I convinced myself that, well, my, it's my son, I won't fail my, you know? And I kind of spiraled when he, when he left. Cause I realized that, uh, that I had denied, I was in denial a little bit. And then it hit me hard.

• 54:02Speaker 04

  And when she left, did she leave town?

• 54:04Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, yeah, they both went away to school. Uh, and, but my agent says they're doing very well.

• 54:12Conan O'Brien?

  I can't talk to those kids. Impossible. Uh, no, uh, they're, they're, it's, it's tough. It's a huge adjustment. I mean, you know, you're going through this, you know? About to have a second child. A daughter coming in a week or so.

• 54:28Speaker 04

  Oh my god, you're starting!

• 54:30Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, I know, it's really late. And Sona has twins. It's my second.

• 54:34Speaker 04

  Your second, okay.

• 54:35Conan O'Brien?

  Sona has twins.

• 54:37Speaker 01

  They're young, they're four, they're like four and a half. I mean, they are four and a half, I'm not, yeah. I don't know why I said it like that.

• 54:43Conan O'Brien?

  You're a strange person. But that's, that's, you don't think, and then when it happens, it is very surreal. It's very surreal, and then when they call you and say...

• 54:56Speaker 04

  How did it happen?

• 54:57Conan O'Brien?

  How did it happen?

• 54:57Speaker 04

  Like, it doesn't, it seems like just yesterday, she was this little thing, looking at me like I'm a jelly bean. And now I'm just like...

• 55:08Conan O'Brien?

  No, when they say things like, "I'm gonna hop a..."

• 55:16Conan O'Brien?

  Broccoli's good, it's good for you.

• 55:18Speaker 04

  It's good for you, but like, you know, I know I'm good for her. But it's, it's, it's, it's, it's hard, it's hard to come to terms with, like, they're...

• 55:26Conan O'Brien?

  It's very hard.

• 55:26Speaker 04

  I don't know how to feel.

• 55:27Conan O'Brien?

  It doesn't make any sense. Uh, I, to me, the most surreal thing is when one of them says, "Okay, I'm going, I'm gonna hop a plane." Hop a plane?

• 55:35Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 55:35Conan O'Brien?

  No! You know, "I'm gonna, I'm gonna go grab the, uh, you know, the Delta flight and, and go flying to another part of the country, and I'm gonna then go do my own thing." And I think, "Well, who's going with you?" You know, "Is your mother going with you? Who will show attention to you to make sure that you get to the bathroom?" You know, and it's, I've just completely lost my mind.

• 55:57Speaker 04

  Yeah, well, because it's also, just because you turn 18, one day you're 17 and one day you're 18. So how much more do you know, just because you turn 18?

• 56:07Conan O'Brien?

  Right, right.

• 56:08Speaker 04

  You're the same.

• 56:09Conan O'Brien?

  Right, right.

• 56:10Speaker 04

  So, she is gonna be 18, and she's like, "Well, I'm gonna do all these things I wanna do now because I'm 18, but you were just 17 the day before."

• 56:19Conan O'Brien?

  Just 'cause this little arbitrary click.

• 56:25Conan O'Brien?

  It's a good point. Now I'm more terrified.

• 56:27Speaker 04

  I know, I'm terrified.

• 56:28Conan O'Brien?

  It's terrible talking to you.

• 56:32Speaker 04

  But you're past that part, though.

• 56:33Conan O'Brien?

  I'm past.

• 56:34Speaker 04

  You're past the 21.

• 56:35Conan O'Brien?

  No, you're never past. This goes back to the very beginning of the conversation. You said, "You never stop putting yourself out there. You never stop feeling like, 'I need to grow.' You never stop being a little afraid." That just doesn't stop.

• 56:50Speaker 04

  It doesn't stop.

• 56:51Conan O'Brien?

  It's the good news and the bad news.

• 56:52Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 56:53Conan O'Brien?

  And these things don't stop.

• 56:54Speaker 04

  I think.

• 56:55Conan O'Brien?

  If I get to live a really long time and my kids, I get to see my kids be in their 40s or 50s, I'll still be stunned that they're headed out the door to go do something.

• 57:07Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 57:07Conan O'Brien?

  You know, and that, you know, that we're not with them, making sure everything's okay. It's always gonna be the way.

• 57:13Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 57:13Conan O'Brien?

  It's just, that doesn't go away.

• 57:15Speaker 04

  Always the parent, yeah.

• 57:15Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, I don't think so. Are you still having, like, on this movie, Crime 101, you're working with these fantastic actors. Are you still in it, having fun, after everything you've been through, all these successes and everything? You still there, enjoying it, in it?

• 57:35Speaker 04

  I love it, yeah.

• 57:36Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, that's great.

• 57:36Speaker 04

  I still do. Sometimes I joke with my friends and think, "I go to work for a break."

• 57:42Speaker 04

  Because parenting is hard.

• 57:45Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 57:45Speaker 04

  You know, it's hard work. And when I get to go do a movie, I just have to think about myself. I don't have to think about anybody's clothes, what they're eating, what they're doing, driving to a soccer game, picking them up. My daughter goes to school all the way downtown. Like, it's a trek. It's an hour and a half almost each way. And you do that, you know, twice a day? You're looking at six hours out of your day, just school, driving, you know? So when I go to do a movie, it's like, it's just me time, right? I don't care if it's 16-hour day, six days a week. I'm just focusing on me, and that feels like a break.

• 58:16Conan O'Brien?

  Do you refine your choosing roles where your character's, like, taking a lot of bubble baths?

• 58:23Conan O'Brien?

  Bubble bath and chocolates, the movie. I'll do it. It's probably not a good script. There's no plot, there's no character development. I'll do it. That's what I would do. It's like Adam Sandler does that. Every movie, it's like, he's in Hawaii. He's at a great resort. Oh, and look, he's having a Sunday.

• 58:44Conan O'Brien?

  Well, this has been an absolute delight. You've lit up our whole building. Everyone's thrilled you're here. And I adore you. I think you're amazing. You're just such a great, honest, cool person to talk to. And I'm just so happy you could be here today.

• 59:02Speaker 04

  I'm happy to. And I legit mean, you have been always one of my very favorites. Every time I've gotten to come, we've had, we have so much fun.

• 59:09Conan O'Brien?

  We have so much fun.

• 59:11Speaker 04

  It's been easy. And it hasn't, you know, you don't always feel that from everybody. So I feel you just as genuinely.

• 59:17Conan O'Brien?

  Well, I'm crazy about you. So I'm just delighted you're here.

• 59:21Speaker 04

  Thank you.

• 59:21Conan O'Brien?

  And it's all, it's all, it's all good. I'm just very happy.

• 59:24Speaker 04

  Thank you very much. Thanks for having me.

• 59:26Conan O'Brien?

  You take care.

• 59:26Speaker 04

  Thank you.

• 59:27Conan O'Brien?

  I'm gonna ghost you again now.

• 59:28Speaker 04

  I will.

• 59:30Speaker 04

  And if I see something, I'm telling you.

• 59:39Conan O'Brien?

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

• 59:42Speaker 01

  Yeah, I love awards.

• 59:43Conan 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.

• 59:57Speaker 01

  Nice.

• 59:57Conan 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.

• 1:00:06Speaker 01

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

• 1:00:10Conan O'Brien?

  I've been tooling around in an Ioniq 5N, 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?

• 1:00:29Speaker 01

  Hello!

• 1:00:30Conan O'Brien?

  They're gonna rename that the Sona. The Palisade Hybrid It should! 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.

• 1:01:04Conan O'Brien?

  When you hear Alka-Seltzer, you probably think heartburn, right?

• 1:01:07Speaker 03

  Yep.

• 1:01:08Conan O'Brien?

  Well, did you know Alka-Seltzer has a line of cold and flu medications known as Alka-Seltzer Cold?

• 1:01:13Speaker 03

  Ooh.

• 1:01:14Conan O'Brien?

  Did you know that, David?

• 1:01:15Speaker 03

  No, but I feel like we need it.

• 1:01:16Conan O'Brien?

  Why didn't you know that, David?

• 1:01:17Speaker 03

  I know, you expect me to know everything.

• 1:01:19Conan O'Brien?

  I knew this.

• 1:01:20Speaker 03

  Did you?

• 1:01:21Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, I've tried it, it's really good. And I like that fizzy, fizzy, fizzy when you drop the Alka-Seltzer Cold into the water.

• 1:01:27Speaker 03

  You do, yeah.

• 1:01:27Conan O'Brien?

  Alka-Seltzer Cold Fast Dissolves Tablets are designed to deliver cold and flu relief fast. Just drop the two tablets in water and hear those bubbles bursting into action, ready to work faster than pills. Bubbles faster than pills. Pills take time to dissolve, not bubbles. Next time a cold or flu strikes, quick! Alka-Seltzer Cold, nothing works faster for cold and flu symptom relief. Among oral products used as directed.

• 1:01:53Speaker 07

  This is the story of the one. As a shipping manager, he's running the dock, stocking supplies, and making sure every order goes out on time. And Granger helps him stay prepared. From shipping supplies, to PPE, to hand tools, he counts on Granger to keep products moving and trucks rolling, so his operation runs smoothly, no matter the shift. Call 1-800-GRANGER, click Granger.com, or just stop by. Granger, for the ones who get it done.

• 1:02:29Speaker 05

  It's currently January, February, beginning of the year. Earlier last year, we never scheduled it. It fell through the cracks, but we were gonna do a white elephant Christmas party, suggested by Eduardo. And I purchased something.

• 1:02:46Conan O'Brien?

  This is a year ago you purchased something?

• 1:02:48Speaker 05

  Well, no, last year.

• 1:02:49Conan O'Brien?

  Okay.

• 1:02:50Speaker 05

  In December. And what did we say our price was gonna be, thirty to forty dollars?

• 1:02:55Conan O'Brien?

  Yes.

• 1:02:55Speaker 05

  I spent about a hundred dollars.

• 1:02:57Speaker 01

  Whoa!

• 1:02:59Speaker 05

  I just couldn't pass it up. And I don't wanna oversell it, but I'd like to just bring it.

• 1:03:05Conan O'Brien?

  Is it a gift for one of us?

• 1:03:06Speaker 05

  It would've been if we did the white elephant. You know what I mean?

• 1:03:09Conan O'Brien?

  If I like this thing, can I have it?

• 1:03:13Speaker 05

  Well, let's just see.

• 1:03:15Conan O'Brien?

  He's like a prop comic.

• 1:03:18Conan O'Brien?

  Oh my god.

• 1:03:19Speaker 01

  Oh!

• 1:03:23Speaker 06

  Wow.

• 1:03:24Conan O'Brien?

  Talk to me. What's happening right now?

• 1:03:26Speaker 05

  I don't think I need to say a thing. I think this says it all.

• 1:03:28Speaker 01

  Oh!

• 1:03:29Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah. Well, if you're watching a video right now.

• 1:03:33Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 1:03:33Conan O'Brien?

  Then yes, but let me describe for anyone who's not. You've just put, basically, they've turned a disco ball into a motorcycle helmet, is what it looks like.

• 1:03:41Speaker 05

  Or vice versa, yeah.

• 1:03:42Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 1:03:43Speaker 05

  Yeah. I saw this and I just knew that this was the thing and I was just hoping it was in the price range. And it wasn't. And then I left and then I went back and got it.

• 1:03:53Conan O'Brien?

  So this-

• 1:03:54Speaker 01

  And then we canceled it.

• 1:03:57Speaker 05

  And I was stuck with this thing. But now, I'm kinda glad that I have it.

• 1:04:03Conan O'Brien?

  I love that you, so this is, there's so many things that are perfect about this. You bought this as kind of a gag for a jokey thing that then got canceled. It didn't happen. You now have what appears to be a disco ball on your head, but a complete with a strap with a little clicker so that you can strap it on.

• 1:04:20Speaker 05

  Or is it-

• 1:04:21Speaker 01

  It can't be street legal.

• 1:04:22Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, I think.

• 1:04:23Speaker 01

  Cause it's distracting.

• 1:04:25Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, of course. Anyone behind you with their brights on is gonna be killed immediately by lasers. So no, you can't be driving that down the street. You said a store had this.

• 1:04:37Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 1:04:37Conan O'Brien?

  Now, it looks like something that you would buy on a site. It doesn't look like something that would exist in a store.

• 1:04:44Speaker 05

  No, not only that, there are two of them and I seriously consider getting two of them. So that when somebody got this and it went crazy in the white elephant, I could pull out a second one and go like, how much? You know?

• 1:04:55Speaker 01

  You, you thought we would all like want it and fight over it and stuff? And then we would pay you like more than market value for it?

• 1:05:02Speaker 05

  I was gonna make a mint.

• 1:05:05Conan O'Brien?

  So.

• 1:05:06Speaker 01

  You look so stupid.

• 1:05:12Conan O'Brien?

  Sometimes Sona would.

• 1:05:13Speaker 05

  You see this thing out with your jacket? Oh my god.

• 1:05:16Speaker 01

  No, this jacket's too cool, bitch. No, you wear that.

• 1:05:19Conan O'Brien?

  Matt, talk to us about the store where you, where you bought this. I'm picturing, you know, in The Forty Year Old Virgin? When.

• 1:05:27Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:05:29Conan O'Brien?

  When they go into a store that just sells stuff from eBay?

• 1:05:32Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:05:33Conan O'Brien?

  And, um, who is it who wants to buy, uh?

• 1:05:37Speaker 01

  Jonah Hill wanted to buy those, those.

• 1:05:39Conan O'Brien?

  Wants to buy those, those high heeled platform shoes that have a goldfish in them. Um, I'm picturing it's that kind of store.

• 1:05:47Speaker 05

  It was a vintage store in Santa Barbara on State Street.

• 1:05:50Conan O'Brien?

  Vintage?

• 1:05:51Speaker 05

  Yeah, and so there was all kinds of kitsch vintage.

• 1:05:57Speaker 05

  Hey, man, I'm Disco Fonzie.

• 1:05:59Conan O'Brien?

  This is good to remember that people had terrible ideas forty years ago.

• 1:06:03Speaker 05

  Cause someone's making these and there's, you know, like a couple of them, it's new. So I mean, make an offer.

• 1:06:10Speaker 01

  Make an offer?

• 1:06:11Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 1:06:12Conan O'Brien?

  Okay.

• 1:06:12Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 1:06:12Speaker 01

  I'll pay you not to, not to have it.

• 1:06:15Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah. My offer is you can work somewhere else if you like.

• 1:06:21Conan O'Brien?

  That's the offer I have for you. You know what's not nice? You know, you're a dad and soon to have two kids. They might like it when dad wears that.

• 1:06:33Speaker 05

  My daughter responded just the same way you guys did.

• 1:06:36Speaker 01

  She lost respect for you a little bit?

• 1:06:38Speaker 05

  Yeah, she had zero.

• 1:06:39Conan O'Brien?

  Did she say? How old is she now?

• 1:06:42Speaker 05

  Four.

• 1:06:42Conan O'Brien?

  She's four and she said, you know, it's trying to be meta and arch, but it's a little too much and a little too self-consciously twee. And you're like, wow.

• 1:06:54Speaker 05

  You said in a second what Conan's been trying to tell me for seven years.

• 1:06:58Conan O'Brien?

  So, so, um, uh, you didn't buy two?

• 1:07:02Speaker 05

  No.

• 1:07:03Conan O'Brien?

  Okay, if you had another one and you put one on Sona too, and you went outside where there's sunlight and you aimed your helmets at each other, you might both go back in time.

• 1:07:14Conan O'Brien?

  You know?

• 1:07:15Speaker 01

  Or you might Freaky Friday, just switch bodies. Yeah, no, I know what you mean.

• 1:07:19Conan O'Brien?

  Switch bodies?

• 1:07:19Speaker 01

  No, no.

• 1:07:20Conan O'Brien?

  That would just be weird.

• 1:07:21Speaker 01

  It's just absurd. I'm so, I'm kind of glad we didn't do white elephant.

• 1:07:26Speaker 05

  Cause you could have ended up with this?

• 1:07:27Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:07:28Conan O'Brien?

  Have you done a lot of white elephants? It was not a thing in my culture growing up. It feels like it's something that's more.

• 1:07:33Speaker 05

  Later in life, yeah.

• 1:07:34Conan O'Brien?

  British? I think the, it's, it's, is that right?

• 1:07:37Speaker 01

  I have no, I, I did white elephants with my friends.

• 1:07:40Speaker 05

  My family now does them in lieu of individual gifts because it's just too big. It'd take too long, so we just do a big white elephant.

• 1:07:46Conan O'Brien?

  But also it can get really mean, right?

• 1:07:48Speaker 05

  It can, yeah, I would think. We should do it this coming year because I imagine you'd get pretty ruthless.

• 1:07:53Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:07:53Conan O'Brien?

  No, what are you talking about?

• 1:07:54Speaker 05

  Cause I'm a kind soul.

• 1:07:56Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, but also you know what I could do is even if I lose out in the game, when the segment's over, I could just say, and now I want all of the gifts. And you'd have to do it.

• 1:08:08Speaker 05

  We'd have to give them to you?

• 1:08:09Conan O'Brien?

  Of course you do.

• 1:08:10Speaker 01

  Why?

• 1:08:10Conan O'Brien?

  I'm a ruthless dictator here.

• 1:08:12Speaker 01

  You're gay.

• 1:08:13Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah. I'm the Maduro of podcasts.

• 1:08:18Conan O'Brien?

  Why do you think I'm so, I'm always hiding? Any minute now, they're gonna come take me away.

• 1:08:24Speaker 01

  Ah, no.

• 1:08:25Speaker 05

  Hey, Eduardo, is there any way to like dim the lights but just get a spot on this baby? I know I didn't give you-

• 1:08:30Speaker 01

  Should I use my phone?

• 1:08:31Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah. Just start hitting buttons over there, Adam.

• 1:08:32Speaker 05

  And then watch what it does to the room and then see what you-

• 1:08:35Speaker 02

  Do you wanna try to hit the, will the, that red light turn off?

• 1:08:37Speaker 05

  Turn all the lights off.

• 1:08:38Speaker 02

  It'll turn off all the lights.

• 1:08:39Speaker 05

  That's okay, cuz Sona's got-

• 1:08:40Speaker 01

  Is it worth doing, putting this much effort into it?

• 1:08:43Conan O'Brien?

  Oh, yes, yeah, yeah.

• 1:08:44Speaker 05

  This is big, this is big.

• 1:08:46Conan O'Brien?

  Sona does say that about everything. Someday when they're, someday they'll be doing CPR on me and Sona will be saying, "Do we really need to put this much effort?"

• 1:08:54Speaker 01

  They're doing CPR on you.

• 1:08:58Conan O'Brien?

  Some of my best jokes happen in the dark.

• 1:09:00Speaker 05

  Alright, now, now I'll entertain offers.

• 1:09:03Conan O'Brien?

  Okay, um, that was spooky.

• 1:09:09Conan O'Brien?

  It did feel like I was in a strip club that closed, and I'm still there. And I'm there for the food, so there's no, there's no ladies anymore, and they're not even serving drinks, but I just can't get enough of that beefaroni.

• 1:09:21Speaker 05

  Hi, I'm, I'm Roscoe, I'm the lighting designer and stripper, all in one.

• 1:09:26Speaker 01

  Oh, my god.

• 1:09:27Conan O'Brien?

  You know what, I think that's one of those gifts that's gonna pay dividends, you know?

• 1:09:32Speaker 01

  It is?

• 1:09:33Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 1:09:33Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 1:09:34Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah.

• 1:09:34Speaker 01

  I don't know.

• 1:09:35Speaker 05

  Even I doubt that. I just know not to pick your gift next.

• 1:09:38Speaker 01

  I know.

• 1:09:39Speaker 05

  When we actually do this.

• 1:09:39Speaker 01

  Well, you don't know whose gift is his.

• 1:09:41Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, you won't know.

• 1:09:42Speaker 01

  That, we used to do white elephants and one of my friends forgot a gift, so he went back to his cart and got Taco Bell sauce packets, and I would rather have the Taco Bell sauce packets than that disco ball helmet.

• 1:09:54Conan O'Brien?

  And you'd say that even if you were at a Taco Bell?

• 1:09:57Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:09:58Conan O'Brien?

  And there was just, and you're surrounded-

• 1:09:59Speaker 01

  Just like a bins of them.

• 1:10:00Conan O'Brien?

  There's just bins of them. And still, you're like, you can have more of these free things that surround you or that disco ball helmet?

• 1:10:10Speaker 01

  Yeah, no, I like white elephant though, it's fun. We should do it next year, this year.

• 1:10:14Conan O'Brien?

  Yeah, we'll do it.

• 1:10:15Speaker 05

  And will you shop or will you just have David go find you something?

• 1:10:17Conan O'Brien?

  That's a terrible thing to say. People act like I live in some kind of bubble. Um, once COVID's over and stores reopen,

• 1:10:27Conan O'Brien?

  I'm sure David will show me where these, quote, "stores" are. And I will go to one and talk to a purveyor.

• 1:10:35Conan O'Brien?

  Uh, alright, well, listen, all I ask is that you wear that on the ride home and that you lower your windows as you head into Pasadena.

• 1:10:43Speaker 05

  Oh, I'm riding on a motorcycle, no need.

• 1:10:45Conan O'Brien?

  No, that's, that's definitely a Vespa, you need to be on a Vespa for that. Alright, peace out.

• 1:10:52Speaker 05

  Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend with Conan O'Brien, Sona Movsesian 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.

• 1:11:13Speaker 05

  Our supervising producer is Erin 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.

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• 1:12:11Speaker 01

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• 1:12:16Speaker 01

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• 1:12:17Conan O'Brien?

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  Uh, no, but maybe-

• 1:12:20Conan O'Brien?

  For several years, I just gave you gross trees. Remember?

• 1:12:22Speaker 01

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

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