Mariska Hargitay

Mariska Hargitay never gets tired of a bit. Amy hangs with the 'Law and Order: SVU' star and talks about playing Cynthia Hooper on ‘ER,’ teasing Christopher Meloni, and seeing 'Hamilton' 27 times. Host: Amy PoehlerGuests: Christopher Meloni and Mariska HargitayExecutive Producers: Bill Simmons, Amy Poehler, and Jenna Weiss-BermanFor Paper Kite Productions: Executive producer Jenna Weiss-Berman, coordinator Sam Green, and supervising producer Joel LovellFor The Ringer: Supervising producers Juliet Litman, Sean Fennessey, and Mallory Rubin; video producers Jack Wilson, Belle Roman, and Aleya Zenieris; lighting director Caroline Jannace; audio producer Kaya McMullen; video editor Drew van Steenbergen; and booker Kat SpillaneOriginal Music: Amy Miles Visible. Live in the know. https://www.visible.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

• 0:00Speaker 00

  I'm pro football Hall of Famer Brian Dawkins, and I lived for a long time with something I did not know the name of: major depressive disorder. I carried sadness and anger because I thought I could handle it alone, but I couldn't. Now I want to make sure others know that that support is out there. If you're experiencing similar symptoms, talk to a healthcare professional. Visit MDDAllies.com to watch my story.

• 0:25Speaker 01

  Paid partnership with Johnson & Johnson. Brian Dawkins has not prescribed Caplyta lumateperone.

• 0:37Speaker 02

  I needed more from my antidepressant, so my doctor added Caplyta lumateperone, proven to provide greater relief from depression symptoms than an antidepressant alone, building on my progress without starting over. Caplyta is for adults with major depressive disorder when used with an antidepressant and is available by prescription only. Individual results may vary. In clinical trials, weight gain was not common.

• 0:57Speaker 01

  Elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. Caplyta is not approved for dementia-related psychosis. Call your doctor about new or sudden mood changes, behaviors, or suicidal thoughts right away. Antidepressants may increase these risks. Report fever, confusion, stiff muscles, which may be life-threatening, or uncontrolled muscle movements, which may be permanent. High cholesterol and weight gain may occur, as can high blood sugar, which may be fatal. Monitoring is recommended. Common side effects are sleepiness, dizziness, nausea, dry mouth, feeling tired, and diarrhea. These aren't all the side effects.

• 1:24Speaker 02

  Ask your doctor about Caplyta. Learn more at caplyta.com or call 888-252-4824.

• 1:30Amy Poehler?

  Hello, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Good Hang. Very excited about our guest today, the one, the only, Mariska Hargitay. We have wanted Mariska to come by for a very long time. We're so happy that she's here, and we're going to talk about a lot of very exciting stuff. We're going to talk about her beautiful new HBO documentary, My Mom Jane. We're going to talk about... The fact that she's America's favorite detective, we're going to discuss what parts we would play in an all-female version of Hamilton. It's a great interview, and let's get started listening to it. But, oh, but, before we do, guess who we have? You know, we always like to talk to somebody who knows our guest, who has a question for our guest, and we got a good one.

• 2:15Amy Poehler?

  We got Christopher Maloney. That's right, Detective Stabler is here. And you may know him from Oz and from SVU and from Law & Order: Organized Crime. Most importantly, you might know him from his star turn in Wet Hot American Summer, where I met him. But Chris Maloney is joining us today. Chris, can you hear us?

• 2:39Amy Poehler?

  This episode is presented to you by Palmolive. Some of the best memories you'll ever make are around the dinner table. You'll never regret trying out those new recipes that may or may not go sideways, or putting on a spread so big that your in-laws are still talking about it years later. Brownie points. So when it comes to the dishes, it's nice to know that there's a product that works as hard as you do. Palmolive Ultra removes up to 99.9% of grease, leaving your dishes sparkling clean. Visit palmolive.com, shop now.

• 3:19Amy Poehler?

  How are you, friend?

• 3:21Speaker 04

  I'm fantastic.

• 3:22Amy Poehler?

  Aw, so good to see you.

• 3:25Speaker 04

  Thank you.

• 3:25Amy Poehler?

  Where am I talking to you from? Are you in the city, or?

• 3:29Speaker 04

  Do you know what the irony is? I'm staying at Mariska's place.

• 3:33Amy Poehler?

  Get out of here. How cool.

• 3:36Speaker 04

  Yeah. And I can't show it to you, because I haven't been authorized, so.

• 3:40Amy Poehler?

  No.

• 3:40Speaker 04

  But it's super-secret. It's like a lair. You know, you remember the Batmobile?

• 3:45Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 3:46Speaker 04

  It's a fence that goes down, and you go into a cave, and the fence goes up. I mean, it's really, it's crazy.

• 3:51Amy Poehler?

  Oh, you have to, like, put your hand on a sensor, and it reads your fingerprints?

• 3:55Speaker 04

  Yep, everything, yep.

• 3:56Amy Poehler?

  God, you know, this is all just, this is all so satisfying for listeners, that you're staying at Mariska's house.

• 4:03Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 4:07Amy Poehler?

  Okay, before we get to her, though. Hello, hi.

• 4:11Speaker 04

  Hi.

• 4:11Amy Poehler?

  We, um, we got to know each other on a cult classic, a film called Wet Hot American Summer. Which, I mean, some could argue you stole that movie right from under all of these sketch little shrinky dinks you just came in.

• 4:29Speaker 04

  Wow, you're, you're, uh, thank you. That's, that's really sweet, because I just look at the whole piece as, you know, it's, to me, it's the epitome of a cult classic. I actually, in fact, when it did not do well at the box office, I remember, you know, I'd been in the biz long enough to go, you know, wah, wah. That, I had a great time. I thought it was great. Whatever. And then all of a sudden, you know, over the years, you keep seeing these young people or being stopped in the street by younger people. And you're like, is, okay, am I crazy, or is this a thing that's happening?

• 5:08Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 5:09Speaker 04

  And that was so exciting.

• 5:11Amy Poehler?

  Let's talk about what you're working on. Are you shooting currently, right now?

• 5:14Speaker 04

  No. I want to play the head coach of a football team in the NFL.

• 5:19Amy Poehler?

  I mean, you definitely have a coach vibe. How do you stay so fit?

• 5:23Speaker 04

  Oh, man, you know, four, four, four or five days a week.

• 5:26Amy Poehler?

  Oh, my God.

• 5:28Speaker 04

  Um, you know, and as you have, as I, look, I've been working out. I, I, I calculate, and I think the longest I have not worked out is maybe two weeks.

• 5:37Amy Poehler?

  Oh, my God.

• 5:39Speaker 04

  And I've been doing that for 50 years. 50 years.

• 5:43Amy Poehler?

  That truly sounds like a nightmare.

• 5:45Speaker 04

  Yeah. And it was, yeah. It is. But now it's my drug of choice, so it's all good.

• 5:54Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, I, I get it. I mean, it's a fantastic thing to invest in yourself, and it feels good, and it's, it, it, it lengthens your life and all of it. But, man.

• 6:04Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 6:04Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, that's a lot of, that's a lot of hard work. Well, I, I, on behalf of, of everyone everywhere, thank you. Congratulations.

• 6:11Speaker 04

  All the little people thank me. All the little actors in Hollywood.

• 6:19Speaker 04

  The frail little actors.

• 6:20Amy Poehler?

  Now, Mariska and you, I mean, you've had to answer a million questions over the years about your relationship on the show and off the show and on shows and off shows. But it really is truly like you are family to each other.

• 6:38Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 6:39Amy Poehler?

  How would you describe, you know, your relationship to each other?

• 6:42Speaker 04

  Um, I think it was based, I think there's a strong cornerstone that is comedic based. We both are constantly in search of great comedy.

• 7:00Speaker 04

  And, you know, we've literally tested out on each other. We used to, in between setups, we would act drunk. And then critique each other. Go ahead, guess, no, this is too much. No, no, bring it, okay, there, go ahead.

• 7:15Amy Poehler?

  I used to say too, when I had to play drunk, the first thing I would do is I would take a big step closer to whoever I was talking to.

• 7:23Speaker 04

  See, that's good. Spatial awareness is gone.

• 7:27Amy Poehler?

  Just one step closer.

• 7:28Speaker 04

  Because I know those people, you know, they do this thing. And you're like, okay.

• 7:33Amy Poehler?

  Totally. Okay, so you and Mariska like to do bits, like?

• 7:37Speaker 04

  Yes. This is something, right? For a split second, she was talking about, she was looking, you know, she was going out on dates a lot, or she was going out on dates. And I said, you should be dating a guy named Gerald. And why that struck us as funny, we don't know, but all of a sudden she had a phantom guys that she dated, that she was really in love with, but it was difficult to manage with Gerald.

• 8:09Amy Poehler?

  Sure. Oh, there's nothing like a fake boyfriend.

• 8:12Speaker 04

  Yeah, but I mentioned, I said, I go, Gerald's here, but I told him to get lost because you were working. In the middle of like, you know, setting up a scene, and she goes, gosh, Chris, you're not allowed to do that. And she starts running out, she goes, Gerald! I went, there you go. It makes no sense, it's not even particularly funny, but it's just funny to us.

• 8:34Amy Poehler?

  I love a bit. God, I mean, it's the only way sometimes to get through a long day is a dumb bit.

• 8:40Speaker 04

  Yeah, and I'll say this, because the genesis of where...

• 8:46Speaker 04

  I drove us. Your question was, you know, what's what's the secret to the sauce? And so, you know, it's the comedy. But I would also add that there's something spiritual in it. And I think that's in her nature. And, you know, perhaps it's an aspect of mine that I recognize.

• 9:06Amy Poehler?

  Do you think you knew each other in a past life?

• 9:08Speaker 04

  That's funny. Yeah, I don't think in those terms. Even though I feel that way, like New York to me, is that, is that to me that?

• 9:15Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 9:16Speaker 04

  When I arrived in New York, I went, I, I don't even know what this thought is, but I should have been born here.

• 9:23Amy Poehler?

  That's so funny you say that. I felt the same way when I came to New York. I thought, oh, right, this is the city I'm supposed to live in.

• 9:30Speaker 04

  Now, right, oh, do you have something? I can check this box. I'm no longer lost. That's how it felt to me.

• 9:38Amy Poehler?

  Interesting. I mean, I wonder if there's like, there's all this like spirit, speaking of spirituality, there's all this idea that there's like people in your life. And I can think of some for me who just, when I met them, I was like, oh, there you are. And they be, they became part of my life. They're now, you know, we're all of the age now, we're now, we're knowing and working people for, with people for 25 years, 30 years. And suddenly it's like there's some version of a, you know, a, a group that was supposed to come together.

• 10:08Speaker 04

  You're funny. I have the same thing, and I've never put it in those terms. But when I walk away from someone, I'll say this, that's a solid citizen.

• 10:22Speaker 04

  But you go, that's someone that you can build a community with.

• 10:25Amy Poehler?

  Yes.

• 10:25Speaker 04

  That's a solid citizen. And it makes me, you know, again, makes me laugh.

• 10:28Amy Poehler?

  I love that. That's a solid citizen. I love that. Okay, speaking, so we're talking to very solid citizen Mariska Hargitay today.

• 10:35Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 10:36Amy Poehler?

  I'm very excited to have her in the studio. Mariska and I have gotten a chance to see each other out in the world, but never really had a real conversation. And I've seen her, you know, at, you know, I've been lucky enough to be part of the many good works that she does. And of course, I'm a huge fan of her work and I've been very moved by her recent film. But there's a lot of sides to her. And I feel like you get, you know, that everyday work environment thing is like you really get to know someone. And so I guess, do you have a question for me today that I could ask her? That you feel like she never gets asked, or that, you know,

• 11:19Amy Poehler?

  I don't know, she would like to be asked about.

• 11:22Speaker 04

  She is the consummate multitasker, and it's a gift that

• 11:27Speaker 04

  I marvel at. You know, she, she's a good connector of people. Um, so she has a wide spectrum of the world, as well as a very keen, incisive,

• 11:41Speaker 04

  mano a mano, uh, engagement with people. And she can assess people very well, um, and engages them always from a, kind of a pure heart. She's always trying to find the solution or the good, and I guess, you know, a question, what is that, what's the driving force of all of these things? And did you know that, you know, did you start out, oh, I'm gonna be an actor? And then when was it, when, when do the tumblers start to drop?

• 12:14Amy Poehler?

  I love what you're saying, because the, like, figuring out the why of things.

• 12:19Speaker 04

  The why of the journey, yeah.

• 12:21Amy Poehler?

  That is, is like, to me, that, you know, like, what a curi-, what, it's what curiosity is about. Like, she's, it seems like a very curious person, and I would be, and I'm curious about her curiosity, basically.

• 12:32Speaker 04

  And, you know, it, that's what I thought made her, uh, documentary about her mom so poignant. Was the clarity of what the journey was, right? The genesis of it, the, the, the, her feelings, the, the things that needed to get resolved for her, the, the deeper insight.

• 12:54Speaker 04

  Oh, my God.

• 12:55Amy Poehler?

  Oh, we lost, we lost video again.

• 12:58Speaker 04

  Hey.

• 12:59Amy Poehler?

  But that's okay.

• 12:59Speaker 04

  No. No, no, hold on.

• 13:03Speaker 04

  Do you have me?

• 13:04Amy Poehler?

  We have you!

• 13:07Speaker 04

  Do you know why I lost you? Mariska just called me.

• 13:11Amy Poehler?

  Amazing. Amazing. She's like, what are you talking about?

• 13:16Speaker 04

  She goes, why won't you pick up? Are you naked?

• 13:21Speaker 04

  Do you want me to call her?

• 13:22Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, let's call her right now. Because she's, I think she's on the way here. Does she know you're doing this?

• 13:28Speaker 04

  No.

• 13:28Amy Poehler?

  Amazing.

• 13:29Speaker 04

  No, so hold on a second. Don't say anything. What, what's up, girlfriend?

• 13:34Speaker 05

  But I just, I felt so happy that you're there. I really am. I want, I'm so happy. I want you to enjoy it and just text me or Sophie if you need to figure out how anything works or whatever.

• 13:45Speaker 04

  Okay, do you, do you, and, but, and was that a hint? Do you want a nudie?

• 13:50Speaker 05

  Could I? But first of all, I'm so sorry. That's so gross about those lemons. I went to buy a shit ton of lemons because I love having lemonade there all the time. I'm serious.

• 14:00Speaker 04

  Well, I saw your lemonade sign. I saw your big lemonade sign right there. Hey, where are you going? What are you doing?

• 14:06Speaker 05

  I'm, right now, I'm going to, uh, Amy Poehler. I do a podcast. You know, I met her, but I don't like know her or anything. And then, um, I'm doing that and then I just have meetings for like now that I'm a mogul at meetings. Why are you laughing? Why, why laughing?

• 14:24Speaker 04

  Oh, no, I, no, I love Amy Poehler with all my heart and soul. That's all. I was just playing you.

• 14:30Speaker 05

  He's always loved her.

• 14:32Speaker 04

  Since day one. I love you more than you know. Thank you so much. Ciao. Love you.

• 14:41Amy Poehler?

  When I tell you-

• 14:42Speaker 04

  That was a lot.

• 14:42Amy Poehler?

  When I tell you that you guys should start an OnlyFans where people pay to hear you guys FaceTime. That was incredible. I got very nervous. That was, I actually started to sweat because that was like a high school version of like hearing how somebody was gonna talk about me. Thank God she didn't say anything bad. What if she had said, "I have to go do this dumbass podcast"?

• 15:04Speaker 04

  Well, number one, I trusted that, you know, she didn't snout that, that, but I love that she didn't want to offend me when I'm like, "Nah."

• 15:14Amy Poehler?

  When you said eh, I was like mommy, are you nuts?

• 15:18Speaker 04

  She would just wants to play.

• 15:20Amy Poehler?

  She's the best. I love talking to you. I hope I see you soon.

• 15:24Speaker 04

  Good. I love you, Amy.

• 15:25Amy Poehler?

  Thanks, Chris. Great to see you, buddy. This episode is brought to you by Visible. You know that one friend who's always the first to know about everything? They've got a dozen tabs open constantly on their phone and in their head? To be that friend, you need wireless that can keep up. Visible is the ultimate wireless hack that lets you live in the know. So you can follow a rabbit hole as long as you want. Get one line wireless with unlimited data, talk and text for $25 a month. Taxes and fees included. Plus Visible runs on Verizon's 5G network, so you can get great coverage and a reliable connection without the premium cost. Ready for wireless that lets you live in the know? Make the switch at visible.com.

• 16:06Amy Poehler?

  Terms apply. See visible.com for plan features and network management details.

• 16:12Speaker 05

  I was walking out of my apartment this morning and some lady, she's a very sweet lady goes, oh my God. My, my son goes to college where she went to college. And so she said, oh, your son, he's so great, da, da, da. And then I, I don't know how my age came up. And I go, yeah, I know. And now I'm 60. And she goes, don't tell anyone your age. And I go, and she's probably 70. And I go, why? I'm proud of it.

• 16:34Amy Poehler?

  And you know, 60, 60 is, 60 is very hot.

• 16:37Speaker 05

  60 is the new hot.

• 16:40Amy Poehler?

  60 is hot.

• 16:40Speaker 05

  Yeah, it is.

• 16:41Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, it's hot.

• 16:42Speaker 05

  That's why I'm so, I get so happy for people that turn 60. I'm like, trust me, sweetie. It's all just beginning.

• 16:47Amy Poehler?

  I know. I mean, I, people get really bunched up about age. I want to talk to you about it too, because I do think like.

• 16:51Speaker 05

  I will get into it. I love talking about it.

• 16:53Amy Poehler?

  Okay. Because I bet you like me, like it's only getting better, only getting better.

• 16:58Speaker 05

  Only getting better. And I'll tell you something. I remember when I turned 40. And I thought, and I used to tell people, oh my God, life begins at 40. Cause my twenties were super hard and really struggled. And then 30, you go, oh, okay. So now I, it's a new beginning, but then 40 is when it really kind of kicked in and I got married and had kids. And then 50, you go, oh, I'm in it and I know how to do it. But 60 gives you a.

• 17:27Speaker 05

  New permission. We learn, we learn no, but no with love. And we learn like, oh, this is how much time I have left. And I'm so grateful to be alive and I want to spend my time in the best, most useful, productive, loving, generous, but also generous to myself way.

• 17:50Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 17:50Speaker 05

  That you go, I'm just so clear. There's a clarity to 60.

• 17:55Amy Poehler?

  Top of act three. 60 is top of act three.

• 17:57Speaker 05

  That's exactly right.

• 17:58Amy Poehler?

  And bottom of act two can be a little, there can be some, like, some reckoning.

• 18:03Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 18:03Amy Poehler?

  But top of act three, you're like, all right, let's do it.

• 18:05Speaker 05

  Let's do it. But also, listen, you're the teacher of this also to everyone about, I really, I really do, like, I would say humor and comedy has, has, has saved my life.

• 18:22Amy Poehler?

  And like, a person who can make you laugh when you're really down is like an angel.

• 18:28Speaker 05

  It's exactly right. Those are the words out of my mouth. And sometimes I'm so, this is why I'm still married. Because my husband, sometimes I'm so upset or if something's happened and I'm so scared and I'm like, no, no, you don't understand. Or I think I'm having an anxiety attack. And then I'm like, no, Peter, something's wrong. I think something's wrong. I feel a thickness, a tightness in my chest and I might have to go to the hospital. I can't feel my right arm and I think I'm gonna die. He immediately goes into the comedy. And as soon as I laugh, I go, because that's his test, his litmus test.

• 18:59Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 18:59Speaker 05

  Should I be scared or not?

• 19:00Amy Poehler?

  Right.

• 19:01Speaker 05

  And I'm so grateful for that.

• 19:04Amy Poehler?

  Me too.

• 19:05Speaker 05

  I'm so great, I'm profoundly grateful for that. Even when my kids do bad things, I call them losers.

• 19:15Speaker 05

  And then they say, oh, it must be, it's not that bad if she's calling. And we laugh through it.

• 19:21Amy Poehler?

  I know. I mean, that kind of like, I've said this before, but like, gentle teasing is like a love language that means you're safe, I'm safe.

• 19:30Speaker 05

  We will get through this.

• 19:31Amy Poehler?

  I know, we'll get through this. I know. And you know, a lot of people-

• 19:35Speaker 05

  Gentle teasing, even hard teasing.

• 19:37Amy Poehler?

  Hard teasing.

• 19:37Speaker 05

  Hard teasing. I learned that from, well, Chris Maloney was my teacher. This guy played so rough.

• 19:44Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 19:45Speaker 05

  And was the first person that busted balls so hard. But I did grow up with two brothers, so I was like, oh, oh, is this how we do it? Is this how we do it?

• 19:55Amy Poehler?

  I mean.

• 19:55Speaker 05

  And we were so rough on each other, but then it became truly our love language.

• 20:00Amy Poehler?

  Okay, this leads me to say what I was gonna say later in the interview, but I have to say now.

• 20:05Speaker 05

  Oh, God.

• 20:06Amy Poehler?

  Which is, we do a thing at the beginning of the interview where we ask someone to speak well behind someone's back.

• 20:11Speaker 05

  Okay.

• 20:12Amy Poehler?

  And we kind of ask, like, we do a little, like, Zoom with somebody, oh, I'm talking to Mariska today. Do you think, you know, have any questions I should ask her? So we talked to Chris.

• 20:20Speaker 05

  Oh.

• 20:21Amy Poehler?

  And not only did we talk to Chris, but we just talked to him 20 minutes ago, and he answered.

• 20:28Speaker 05

  Look at me starting to sweat.

• 20:29Amy Poehler?

  Okay, I'm sweating too, because he answered your phone call while we were on Zoom with him.

• 20:35Speaker 05

  And I wrote back and said, why won't you answer my FaceTime, are you naked? That's what I said. Just answer my FaceTime, because he's at my house right now.

• 20:44Amy Poehler?

  Okay, we know. We know he's at us.

• 20:46Speaker 05

  Okay.

• 20:47Amy Poehler?

  Because he, he was talking so lovingly about you. I mean, absolutely. He's going through your drawer.

• 20:54Speaker 05

  He's going through all of it. I'm frightened.

• 20:56Amy Poehler?

  He is. First of all, thank you for not saying anything bad about me, because it was like, Maloney put us both on the spot in the best way, when he was like, what are you doing? And you're like, I'm going to Amy Poehler's podcast. And I was like, oh, my God.

• 21:10Speaker 05

  Wait, you were on the phone, you heard what I said?

• 21:11Amy Poehler?

  Yes.

• 21:12Speaker 05

  And I said, you love her.

• 21:14Amy Poehler?

  Yes, you were so nice. And it was, and so like, while I was talking well behind someone else's back, somebody else talked well behind my back.

• 21:23Speaker 05

  That is so, that is so sweet.

• 21:25Amy Poehler?

  That's very healing. Thank you. But.

• 21:28Speaker 05

  By the way, is there anything better than that, than having somebody have your back?

• 21:31Amy Poehler?

  No, there's nothing better.

• 21:33Speaker 05

  There's just nothing. I was talking to my sisters this morning. I'm worrying about it. It's everything to me.

• 21:38Amy Poehler?

  Well, Maloney's got your back.

• 21:40Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 21:41Amy Poehler?

  And you guys have, I mean, I want to get into it, because it's, it's, to me, it speaks to like this bigger idea of like how our workplace becomes like a second home in our family, but.

• 21:57Amy Poehler?

  You guys tease each other in a way that to me is like that's what it looks like with the people I love. That's how I show my love. And people don't know, you were in The Groundlings. Like comedy first.

• 22:09Speaker 05

  Always. How did I end up as America's sweetheart sex cop? I should have been you.

• 22:15Amy Poehler?

  Oh my god, let's switch.

• 22:17Speaker 05

  I wanted to be you.

• 22:18Amy Poehler?

  I wanted to be a law. I wanted to be a law.

• 22:20Speaker 05

  I was like, oh my god.

• 22:21Amy Poehler?

  I wanted to be taken seriously.

• 22:22Speaker 05

  All I wanted to be was you. I was like, oh my god.

• 22:25Amy Poehler?

  Oh my god, all I wanted to be was be like, be like, listen to me. And everyone was like, no babe, no one's gonna listen to you.

• 22:31Speaker 05

  Should we switch for a day?

• 22:32Amy Poehler?

  My dream.

• 22:33Speaker 05

  Okay, I'm gonna try to see if we can make this happen.

• 22:35Amy Poehler?

  We'll Freaky Friday that shit.

• 22:36Speaker 05

  Yeah, we'll Freaky Friday that shit.

• 22:38Amy Poehler?

  I mean, because I would watch and I was like, god, to have that gravitas and to play those scenes and to be able to be in charge instead of being like, doink, doink, doink.

• 22:51Speaker 05

  But I'm in, but I realize, I am.

• 22:55Amy Poehler?

  You wanted to be doink, doink, doink. Cause you start, wait, how old were you when you did Groundlings?

• 23:00Speaker 05

  God, that was many a year ago.

• 23:03Amy Poehler?

  Many years, twenties, right?

• 23:04Speaker 05

  Yeah, twenties. And then Kathy Griffin always tells me, in her book, she tells a story about how she dropped me. Also out of it.

• 23:11Amy Poehler?

  She was holding you?

• 23:12Speaker 05

  She said, we did the trust exercise. And then I, of course, am like, you know, yes, and. And she said that I just, you know, leaned back and she dropped me.

• 23:21Amy Poehler?

  Dude, you don't remember that?

• 23:23Speaker 05

  I don't. And I also think maybe that's part of what's wrong with me now.

• 23:27Amy Poehler?

  When you were auditioning in the beginning, were you going out for comedic stuff?

• 23:32Speaker 05

  Yes. I did a lot of, um, yeah, I did, you know, I did Seinfeld and I did Single Guy and, you know, I tested for Friends.

• 23:43Amy Poehler?

  You did?

• 23:44Speaker 05

  So many times.

• 23:45Amy Poehler?

  Which part? Do you remember?

• 23:47Speaker 05

  I think it's Monica. I think. So long ago again. But I always thought that I would end up being on a sitcom or doing comedy. That's what I thought.

• 23:57Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 23:58Speaker 05

  And it was so funny because this is one of my favorite stories that you will love.

• 24:02Amy Poehler?

  I know, can't wait.

• 24:03Speaker 05

  So, I'm in LA, struggling actor, was doing, I think it was after, was it after ER?

• 24:13Speaker 05

  Yeah, after ER, I was like, what am I gonna do? What am I, what am I gonna do? I loved ER, but I was like, I wanna, I had a development deal with Disney, Warner Brothers, DreamWorks. And so, I was developing a show, and it was sort of like, Allah, um, um, what's the show with Calista Flockhart?

• 24:31Amy Poehler?

  Oh, yeah, Ally McBeal.

• 24:32Speaker 05

  Ally McBeal, where it was half drama, dramedy. And that's what I wanted to do. I was like, I wanna do drama, but it has to be funny, cuz that's what I felt like my gifts were. So, I came to New York, which I did three times a year to see, uh, theater, and then I met with this psychic. Everyone said to me, "Oh, my gosh, Merschka, you have to meet with this psychic, he's amazing." So, I drove out somewhere on Long Island to this man, and I went there, and he started saying all this amazing stuff to me, stuff about my mom, and stuff about a ring, my grandmother had just died, and he said there was gonna be an issue with the ring, which there was. And then, he said, he looks at me and he goes, I, I was listening to him really intently like this.

• 25:15Speaker 05

  And he said to me, "Amy, you see that face you're doing right now? You see that face?" And he'd go like that. I said, I said, "Yeah." He goes, "You're gonna be famous for that face. You're moving to New York, and you're gonna be famous for that face." And I said, "Uh, no. I, uh, live in LA, and I'm gonna be a comedian, because I'm funny, and I'm pretty, and that is a deadly combination. I am gonna be a comedian." And he looks at me, and this is my favorite moment in my life, he goes like this, "I don't give a rat's ass what you say. You're gonna be famous for that face." Six months later, swear to God, on my children, I got asked for you.

• 26:00Amy Poehler?

  Woo woo.

• 26:01Speaker 05

  Right? Woo woo. And it was one of those things where you just go, "But I don't, who says rat's ass? Is that not the best line you ever heard in your life?"

• 26:11Amy Poehler?

  Here's how I feel about psychics, like, I love a bossy psychic.

• 26:14Speaker 05

  Yes.

• 26:15Amy Poehler?

  Because, sure. You know what I mean?

• 26:17Speaker 05

  Just tell me.

• 26:18Amy Poehler?

  Just tell me.

• 26:19Speaker 05

  And tell me with confidence.

• 26:20Amy Poehler?

  Totally.

• 26:21Speaker 05

  Because if you're insecure, I'm out.

• 26:22Amy Poehler?

  And I'm gonna forget what you said, anyway.

• 26:24Speaker 05

  I'm gonna forget.

• 26:25Amy Poehler?

  I'm only gonna remember the parts that came true.

• 26:27Speaker 05

  That's right. And he said, "I don't give a rat's ass." Six months later, I was walking around doing that face, going, "Where were you Tuesday night?" Okay, so guys.

• 26:36Amy Poehler?

  God, I want to do that so bad.

• 26:38Speaker 05

  It's so good. I'm gonna, I'm gonna make this happen.

• 26:40Amy Poehler?

  Well, you know, let's talk about, you were on ER.

• 26:45Amy Poehler?

  And you were incredible on that show. And can you just tell me, before we get to your incredible show, what it was like to work?

• 26:53Speaker 05

  Changed my life.

• 26:54Amy Poehler?

  And your performance on that show is very tender.

• 26:59Speaker 05

  Thank you.

• 26:59Amy Poehler?

  I love your performance on that show. That character was, felt very vulnerable, and very funny, and very sweet and tender, and to me, that, what was your character's name?

• 27:13Speaker 05

  Cynthia Hooper.

• 27:13Amy Poehler?

  Thank you, Cynthia Hooper, working at the desk, being like overwhelmed, and being in love with Dr. Mark Green, played by Anthony Edwards. And being like, is this the right place for me? And it was so interesting to watch that character on that show at that time, because the show was about like, we're all here with a mission. And there was someone that was like, or maybe I'm, or maybe I shouldn't be here.

• 27:36Speaker 05

  Yeah, very much so.

• 27:37Amy Poehler?

  And it was so nuanced how you played her. I loved her.

• 27:41Speaker 05

  Oh, thanks, Amy, that's so generous.

• 27:43Amy Poehler?

  What was that experience to be on that show?

• 27:46Speaker 05

  You know, we all, we lived through what ER was. It was the pinnacle of all television. I mean, it was the greatest show on the planet. And the acting was so next level. And I look back at it and I think of how that show really shaped me, and those actors shaped me. And how invested they were, how amazing they were, how it was, it was acting like I'd never seen, but I knew I didn't know how to, I didn't know how to do exactly what they were doing. It was, it was like a little out of my league. But I watched them so skillfully, and so, in such a beautiful nuanced way.

• 28:31Speaker 05

  I think that was when I went.

• 28:34Speaker 05

  I want to do that. I want to do that. Yeah. Whatever they're doing, that's so masterful and skilled. And that was Sparkly. Such a turning. I love that you're bringing this up. It was such a turning point in my life because of enacting. The truth is, it's both, right? It can be so tragic, but then it's so funny, right? Because we panic, you know, our heads get squeezed. We don't know how to deal with it. All we can do is laugh. And so it was such an integration moment. One of the greatest gifts I think that my dad ever gave me was Mariska, you can learn from everyone around you. So I've always been like, if you don't know it, watch and learn. Watch and learn, whether the younger, older, anyone, watch and learn. So I did.

• 29:17Speaker 05

  And I do attribute so much of my success to those days of watching these masterful actors and going, I want to do that.

• 29:33Amy Poehler?

  This episode is brought to you by eBay Live. Here's how it goes. First, you're watching the eBay Live stream, telling yourself, I'm just looking. And then boom, you see a vintage Rolex go for an absolute steal. Suddenly, a rare Beanie Baby pops up. Adrenaline hits and you're bidding. You might lose that first one, but you bid again and win. And that winning rush? Incredible, because you beat everyone to it. Meanwhile, on eBay Live, you don't just watch the action, you're in it. Download the eBay app to stream and shop live. eBay Live, things people love. This episode is brought to you by Subaru. There's something about being on the road that has a way of leading to those unexpectedly memorable little moments.

• 30:15Amy Poehler?

  And in the all-new 2026 Subaru Hybrid, it's like the destination isn't even important. It's the drive, baby. And let me tell you, I'm in that car and I feel like a million bucks. Quiet ride, comfortable. Love my Subaru, can't get enough. With up to 581 miles in the Subaru Forester Hybrid, and even more, 597 in the Crosstrek Hybrid, you can go further between stops and stay in the moment longer. Visit subaru.com/hybrid to learn more. The Subaru Forester Hybrid and Crosstrek Hybrid, love goes the extra mile. This episode is brought to you by All Free Clear detergent. Are you trying to be a bit more mindful of the things you buy for you and your family?

• 30:57Amy Poehler?

  You know, reading the labels, checking the ingredients, trying to understand what all those letters, numbers, and long words mean? I get it. Sometimes we don't really know what's in the things we buy and we want to feel good about our choices. So when it comes to laundry detergent, choose All Free Clear. 100% free from dyes and perfumes, All Free Clear detergent uses only essential ingredients that tackle tough stains and odors, and it's gentle on skin. It's a powerful clean you can feel good about. So go on, pick up a bottle of All Free Clear for your next laundry day. This episode is brought to you by CarMax. Okay, hear me out. When CarMax says that you can buy your way, they really mean it.

• 31:38Amy Poehler?

  Shop for cars from your sofa, the subway, the hair salon, wherever. And the price you see is the price you pay. No negotiating, no last minute surprises. Plus, every car is CarMax certified and backed by a 10 day money back guarantee. So you can shop and buy with confidence. It's all about what works for you. Want to drive? CarMax. Shop now at carmax.com.

• 32:04Amy Poehler?

  You have this moment, you're on that set, you're learning what kind of actor you want to be.

• 32:10Amy Poehler?

  Can you walk us through how SVU comes into your life? Because it is, I mean, it's, that show is beyond a TV show. That show is not only like a cornerstone for a network, a franchise, but it's also become, you know, an iconic American experience, that show. And you are the captain of that ship. And I'm sure all of these things you are now able to reflect and kind of process and hopefully enjoy. But at the very beginning, when it's not a tree yet, and it's just a little tiny seedling, what's that experience you walking in, finding out about that show, auditioning for it?

• 32:56Amy Poehler?

  Meeting Dick Wolf, scary to scary Dick Wolf? I'm scared of Dick Wolf. I'm sure he's so talented.

• 33:02Speaker 05

  You know what? Dick Wolf wasn't scary to me then because I didn't fully know who he was and his, what he represented.

• 33:08Amy Poehler?

  Right.

• 33:10Speaker 05

  And, you know, I don't know if you've talked to Chris or but if he told you about our audition.

• 33:16Amy Poehler?

  No.

• 33:16Speaker 05

  The experience was pretty magical in terms of.

• 33:19Amy Poehler?

  Okay, tell us, please.

• 33:19Speaker 05

  In terms of, I mean, listen, I have this personality and Chris and I, I think where we bonded is that we both have that sense of humor, that sense of play, that sense of risk, that sense of I love you, it's safe, so I'm gonna beat you. You know what I mean?

• 33:36Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 33:36Speaker 05

  And so that's where the trust was built.

• 33:38Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 33:38Speaker 05

  And it came immediately. So I had read for SVU. He obviously had read for SVU. And so our callback was three women, three men. And we got to the audition and we were to be paired up.

• 33:55Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, a lot of people don't know that, that you, in an audition, sometimes you just get like a dance partner and it can make or break your chance to get on the show.

• 34:04Speaker 05

  Period. Because it was about chemistry.

• 34:06Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 34:06Speaker 05

  So my agent said, oh, my God, there's an amazing guy there. His name is John Slattery and he's reading for the role as well. In walks Chris Maloney and I go, Slattery! And he goes, Maloney! And so minute one, that's how it opened. That's how it opened. Because I didn't know what either one of them looked like in 1999. And he came in and I didn't know there was gonna be 47 people there.

• 34:28Amy Poehler?

  Right.

• 34:28Speaker 05

  So as soon as Chris comes in, I'm like, Slattery! It's gonna be me and Slattery. And he goes, Maloney. And then I said, Chris comes in and, you know, he's like wearing no clothes. Big surprise.

• 34:38Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, buff city.

• 34:39Speaker 05

  And so he has this huge cross and I'm like, oh, my God, you're a Christian.

• 34:45Amy Poehler?

  You're just getting it wrong left and right.

• 34:46Speaker 05

  And he goes like this. Yeah, no. And I go, then why do you have Jesus Christ on your arm? He goes, because I admire his commitment. And I'm like this, okay, got it, got it. And it was such a, I was like, okay, well, there's that. I've never met anyone like you, but I like it. And so we're sitting there and then everyone comes in and then we got paired up. And that was the end of it. Because I knew he was gonna get it. I knew, I knew that he was Elliot Stapler. I knew it, I knew it.

• 35:16Amy Poehler?

  Wow.

• 35:16Speaker 05

  And so the other people, I think he felt the same way.

• 35:19Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 35:20Speaker 05

  So as soon as they paired, paired us up, we were like, oh, okay, partner. It was interesting, it was overwhelming, to get back to your question. It was utterly overwhelming. I loved the script and I loved the progressive nature of the show. I loved the subject matter and the fact that they were willing to tackle it. And I loved Chris.

• 35:42Amy Poehler?

  What's so interesting about your performance in the show and your dynamic together is you trade kind of like masculine and feminine a lot, back and forth.

• 35:52Speaker 05

  That's right.

• 35:52Amy Poehler?

  And the dance is really interesting. And, and in other hands, that character of Olivia Benson would feel a little one-dimensional because she would feel, you know, kind of cut off from certain parts of herself. But what's been so interesting and what I'm sure he brings out in you and you bring out in him is the like, the yin and yang of those people.

• 36:14Speaker 05

  Very much so. And I changed very much when he left. But also, that was done by design. And because as soon as I got the role, I went through a 40-hour training and became a rape crisis counselor so I could fully understand, because I was entering in such a new world. And I wanted to understand the cops of it, I wanted to understand victims' advocates, rape crisis counselors, and sexual assault from a, you know, more holistic viewpoint. And there was so much for me to learn. And so, once I became, you know, did the 40-hour training, I went, oh.

• 36:52Speaker 05

  I am not going to play this, you know, like a hard-nosed detective woman who's trying to fit into a man's world and be masculine. I am going to be all of myself because that's where, as women, our power lives.

• 37:06Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 37:06Speaker 05

  But also, that's where anyone's power is, is when they have the ability for integration, right? And to say, "I'm this, and I'm this, and I'm this, and I'm this." What you don't want to do is let, is be put into a box, or let anyone put you in a box, or put other people in a box for that matter.

• 37:20Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 37:20Speaker 05

  And then we learned very young, I mean, very early. We weren't young, there was nothing young about us when we got the show, but we learned very early that the show was only as good as the guest cast, right? So then we became very, with the guest cast, and we would just, like, help everyone. And it became really, and that's one of the things I think I'm most proud of, is when you step onto SVU, some people come on and they're just unbelievable and talented and they understand it, and some people, they're nervous, or they struggle, or they don't fully understand the character, or they don't, whatever. We have like sixteen safety nets in place that they, it's very hard to fail on our show.

• 38:01Amy Poehler?

  It's so great.

• 38:02Speaker 05

  Because we got you.

• 38:02Amy Poehler?

  I mean, you're often someone's first job. You're often, like, Adam Scott was on here, and he talked about how he did a long order episode.

• 38:10Speaker 05

  I don't think it was my show.

• 38:11Amy Poehler?

  No, it wasn't SVU.

• 38:12Speaker 05

  And I'm really upset because I'm so obsessed with Adam Scott.

• 38:15Amy Poehler?

  I know.

• 38:15Speaker 05

  And all things Severance.

• 38:16Amy Poehler?

  And I think it was with Jerry Orbach, who also I used to hear was like, really, like, if you showed up and you knew your scene, Jerry would love you forever. If you didn't know your scene, hit the road, kid.

• 38:26Speaker 05

  No, no, he's like this, what time am I at?

• 38:27Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, like, chop, chop.

• 38:28Speaker 05

  Yeah, I got a hard out of five, babe.

• 38:29Amy Poehler?

  I get it, Jerry, you got, Jerry, there's a stake waiting for you, and Morton's like, "You gotta get out of here."

• 38:33Speaker 05

  Period. Period, end of story.

• 38:34Amy Poehler?

  Yes, but, um, but what, who were some people? You must have seen a lot of people.

• 38:40Speaker 05

  A lot.

• 38:40Amy Poehler?

  That have come through that you thought, you saw them at the beginning of something. Is there anyone that you could?

• 38:45Speaker 05

  Abigail Breslin.

• 38:46Amy Poehler?

  Oh.

• 38:47Speaker 05

  The two people that I went, holy, holy God, were Abigail Breslin, she was so young on the show. She kept doing this dance between takes and going like, "Do, do, do, ma, do, ma, fa", some kind of dance she was doing, and then I started doing it with her. And then we would just do it, and it was some funny little nursery rhyme shtick, I don't know what it was, but I would just do it with her, and then they'd say, "Action." And I swear to God, I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. She would turn. One tear. And start like lip quiver, one tear. No acting. But like, I said, I remember going, "What the? Are you like Meryl Streep?" I said, "Are you like Meryl Streep?" And she'd be like, "I don't know."

• 39:31Speaker 05

  And then she'd go back to her nursing room. And I was like, "Oh, there's something this kid has touched."

• 39:35Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 39:35Speaker 05

  She is so magical.

• 39:38Amy Poehler?

  Savant.

• 39:39Speaker 05

  And then there was another person. Another person that I called it, and I remember saying it to her, is Megan Fahy. When she did the show, I was like, "Let me tell you something. I'm just gonna tell you right now, you're gonna be a big movie star. You're gonna be a huge star." And I don't like use that word because it's so like star. What does that even mean? But I just recognized her, A, talent, B, light, and C, she was like, she was so sparkly. Internally, like an internal sparkle. And there've just been people that have come through where you go, "Oh. Oh, wow." And it's almost like an effortless, beautiful light. And it's so exciting.

• 40:24Speaker 05

  It's so exciting to see them go on and go. I called it.

• 40:28Amy Poehler?

  Totally.

• 40:29Speaker 05

  I called it.

• 40:30Amy Poehler?

  And also, to your point, like, I'm just so in awe of the fact that you, in working with the material on a daily basis, then made sure that you were able to handle the material in your personal life. Like, that you knew, like, "Okay, I'm gonna really get trained here, so I not only know what I'm talking about, but I imagine you anticipated," because I know you do get people who approach you with very personal things.

• 40:55Speaker 05

  I do.

• 40:55Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 40:56Speaker 05

  Listen, the subject matter of the show is the reason I started Joyful Heart, my foundation.

• 41:00Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, talk about that.

• 41:01Speaker 05

  Well, I just felt like I can't, when I found out the statistics, which was one out of four, one out of three women in their lifetime will be sexually assaulted. One out of six men in their lifetime will be sexually assaulted. And when I learned those statistics, I was like...

• 41:20Speaker 05

  Stop, hold please. Why is everyone not talking about this? This is an epidemic. This is something that affects everyone. If you're at lunch with three or four women, one person has been assaulted. And so, because, soon as I started the show, everybody, because it was, you know this, it's on television, it becomes watercooler conversation, and then it's okay to talk about. Yeah. And that was the power of SVU, is that you had these horrific stories, true stories, ripped from the headline stories, being told, and then you had a fierce, protective father figure, and a fierce nurturing mother figure,

• 42:04Speaker 05

  which was, you know, Chris and I, to protect you. And that's all anybody wanted. So I think that a lot of it comes from the fact that there's space to be heard. And think about, everybody, every person on this planet, all we want is to be seen, to be seen and listened to. That doesn't always happen. But when we're listened to, half of it, and believed, half of the injury can go away. And so, I know that that's how I heal, is being listened to and believed.

• 42:49Speaker 05

  And so I think the character who listens, who believes, and then feels a need to fix and protect, obviously is going to create safety, because that's all you want. But I also, I can't save the world. I can't, I'm just trying to do it. But what I can do is teach people about how we begin. Teach people how we, how we can listen and live in a more compassionate, empathetic, and kind way. And simply by listening, and simply by believing, and simply by saying, "I'm so sorry that that happened to you."

• 43:33Speaker 05

  It's like tectonic plates shifting.

• 43:37Amy Poehler?

  Well, it kind of gets back to what we were saying, which is it's not so much always about the doing of the thing. It's just about the sitting and the feeling of the thing.

• 43:44Speaker 05

  Sitting in it.

• 43:45Amy Poehler?

  There's not as much to do as you think.

• 43:47Speaker 05

  That's exactly right. And I think to go back to how we started this conversation, I think that is the clarity of being older and understanding. And for me, it's been more about learning to be tolerant, tolerant with myself. And the more tolerant I've become with myself or my own pain, the more internal space that I've had, which is why I was able to make my film.

• 44:15Amy Poehler?

  Yeah. So, let's talk about your film. And Chris's question to me for you is a perfect segue into the film, because Chris wanted me to ask you, when we were talking well behind your back, and then he took a phone call from you, and then you talked well behind my back, thank God. But, no. But Chris wanted me to ask you, like, and it's kind of what we've been talking about today, there's a curiosity to you. You don't want to just figure out, you know, you don't want to just be outraged about things that are wrong or not working. You want to figure out the why behind things. The why is very important to you. And he was wondering, where do you think that comes from?

• 44:57Amy Poehler?

  And that question made me think about your film. Because, you know, for people, you know, it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. My mom, Jane, Mariska, made a beautiful documentary about learning more about herself and her mom and her entire family and all the connections there. It felt like that...

• 45:24Amy Poehler?

  Exercise in trying to figure out the why behind your origin story feels like it also exists in other things that you do in work and in life and in your family right now. Is that, is there a connection there?

• 45:36Speaker 05

  Oh, God, yeah.

• 45:37Amy Poehler?

  Is like figuring out the why?

• 45:38Speaker 05

  Yeah, it's funny. My mom, my stepmom just actually text, I don't know my phone, but she, she texted me yesterday. Because this, this sort of why of it all is just coming up right now in a very crystallized way, which, which I love when sort of everything sort of comes together like that. But yeah, I think that I've spent a lot of my life trying to make sense of things, of chaos. And also, I'm living a life right now that I never thought that I was capable of living, right?

• 46:20Speaker 05

  And so, I still am trying to put together the pieces of why and what those Jenga or Lego pieces were that helped build it, right? And so for my film, I was just trying to understand these people and their decisions. And so, I wanted to go in with this disciplined curiosity because I had jumped to so many conclusions. And because I felt different my whole life and like I didn't belong. And then when I found out, when I find out in the film, I was like, why?

• 47:03Speaker 05

  Why would he not choose me or claim me? Like, what's wrong with me? Why would she leave me in this mess? Why did I feel, what were the things that were set? Why did, like a little detective child, I was like, this doesn't add up, this doesn't add up, this doesn't add up. And I, and I wanted to understand why. And I also wanted to just have somebody be straight with me.

• 47:30Amy Poehler?

  I mean, Mariska, it's so deep what you're saying, that that is little, like that is detective child then becomes in real life, this powerful detective on television who is advocating for other people to get answers while she's spent, you know, the, the very...

• 47:51Amy Poehler?

  Most important beginning years of her life trying to figure that out for herself.

• 47:54Speaker 05

  Yeah, and I think that, you know, I don't think I could have made this movie before now. I had to build the infrastructure, right, to make sure that it was solid as a rock.

• 48:04Amy Poehler?

  One of the most beautiful things about the film is, you know, this idea that you're toggling between kind of like yesterday and today and your present, you're such a beautiful family and you have such a wonderful partner in Peter.

• 48:17Speaker 05

  I do.

• 48:17Amy Poehler?

  And that relationship, watching that in real time is so moving and also just like sexy and fun. Like you guys are a lot of fun together. I've had the opportunity to see you together and you're a really like, you spoke about it earlier, like the way in which he can kind of joke you off of the ledge. Like you guys have fun with each other. You enjoy each other. You've been married for how, how, how long?

• 48:45Speaker 05

  Twenty-one.

• 48:46Amy Poehler?

  And you met on?

• 48:47Speaker 05

  SVU. Chris and I were so, that was what was hard for people and a lot of people have said it. We were so in our own private Idaho and we would just be joking, joking and it was such intense energy between us that I think people were like, I can't play on that level. Do you know what I mean? I can't. I'm sure it's like that on you guys with SNL where people go, oh shit, this is some next level shit.

• 49:08Amy Poehler?

  Oh yes, like sometimes when I would kind of, you know, have someone around all the comedy people and they would just be doing bits and bits and bits, I'd look over to a person's face and they'd be like, get me out of here.

• 49:21Speaker 05

  Yeah, yeah, no, I can't imagine.

• 49:22Amy Poehler?

  Help me, help me. Yeah. And or also like, I don't know how to get in there. Okay, but Peter, tall Peter?

• 49:29Speaker 05

  Tall Peter.

• 49:30Amy Poehler?

  How tall?

• 49:31Speaker 05

  Six-five.

• 49:31Amy Poehler?

  Damn.

• 49:32Speaker 05

  Six-five!

• 49:34Amy Poehler?

  Six-five.

• 49:36Speaker 05

  No, it's so crazy with Peter and I, and I'll tell you something. That was another thing that my dad said to me. He goes, "Prishka, find out where you're going and then who's coming with you."

• 49:46Amy Poehler?

  Oh, that's so good.

• 49:48Speaker 05

  But Peter and I just, you know, I didn't get married till I was forty and we dated for two years and then once he asked me to marry him, we got married in four months because I had to do it over eight, you know.

• 50:00Amy Poehler?

  And so it was like, okay, chop, chop. They were like, and we're rolling.

• 50:04Speaker 05

  And yeah, we're rolling. And so then it was just, it's been a, you know, I'm so grateful for me that I don't think I could have handled a marriage earlier. I don't think I'd be married. I was just too, had too much to learn. So I just went straight to like, you know, the second husband.

• 50:19Amy Poehler?

  Smart.

• 50:20Speaker 05

  Yeah, right?

• 50:21Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, smart.

• 50:21Speaker 05

  And so we're, it is good, you know, I'm just grateful that I had a little bit more life experience.

• 50:26Amy Poehler?

  And what's your communication style? Like, how do you guys, you know?

• 50:30Speaker 05

  It's so genius.

• 50:31Amy Poehler?

  How do you, yeah, how does it work?

• 50:34Speaker 05

  I'll tell you something. We have a skill that I wish I could teach.

• 50:39Amy Poehler?

  You can, you could start a seminar right now.

• 50:42Speaker 05

  What we do is, there's like tension, like somebody will say something that'll annoy me. And then there's this brilliant thing we do. And I think it's brilliant because it's, again, it's comedy, it always works.

• 50:53Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 50:53Speaker 05

  Where we do this thing where we switch roles, right? But you do a thing like if I said, Peter, you know, I'll get mad at him because he'll leave his clothes around. And I, he leaves little messes everywhere. And I'm like, why can't you just pick your shit up and put it? Like, why does it have to be in every room? Everywhere he goes, there's messes everywhere.

• 51:14Amy Poehler?

  Just a tiny little pile.

• 51:14Speaker 05

  Just tiny little pile. And I'm like, do you not?

• 51:17Amy Poehler?

  And he's so tall that the piles must be huge.

• 51:19Speaker 05

  Huge, that's exactly right. And I'm like, why? Do you see how much effort I put into having the house neat? I need the mental space for something to be organized. I have so much going on. And so then he'll do, I'll get like mad and we'll have things. He goes, I just left the dinner one second, whatever it is. And then he'll come in and I left a cup and he goes, how many times have I asked you? It's really important to me if you could just. And then he'll say exactly what I said. So what it means is, is he gets, he really gets it.

• 51:46Amy Poehler?

  Yes.

• 51:47Speaker 05

  And it works with everything.

• 51:48Amy Poehler?

  So you're meaning, he, he, he, he parrots back to you what you said?

• 51:52Speaker 05

  But from his point of, but, but like as he, it's as, as he takes. It's like wife appropriation.

• 51:59Amy Poehler?

  Well, I think it's actually what they do in couple therapy, which is basically like, say back, yes.

• 52:04Speaker 05

  But he does it as it's his. And the problem now is, because I'll do it to him. I go, like, sometimes I'll say the wrong word, and he's like, "I just wish you'd be more thoughtful with your words," because he always says the right word, and I say the gist, right?

• 52:16Amy Poehler?

  I'm a gist person, too.

• 52:17Speaker 05

  I'm a gist. And so I go, "You know what I mean? And look at all this gesticulating I'm doing." So you could feel me. My energy is coming at you. And he's like, "Just take a second, maybe think about it." But in our house, the comedy thing is, we just rip on the kids.

• 52:31Amy Poehler?

  Same. I mean...

• 52:32Speaker 05

  I just say, "Don't do that, because if you do that, you're a hack and a loser." Is that what you want to be? Is that what you want to be?

• 52:37Amy Poehler?

  Totally.

• 52:38Speaker 05

  And people come over, and they don't know us, and they're like, "Oh, shit." And I go, "Yeah."

• 52:41Amy Poehler?

  To me, that is what intimacy is that. I've said this before, but like, politeness is for strangers and for people that we don't know.

• 52:50Speaker 05

  And by the way, I don't feel safe around polite, because then I'm like, "What are you really thinking?"

• 52:56Amy Poehler?

  I promise you, I won't torture you, I won't play games with you. And please, if I go, "Do you like this?" And someone goes, "No," I go, "Great." I want to know if they don't like it.

• 53:06Speaker 05

  We're exactly the same this way.

• 53:08Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 53:09Speaker 05

  Somebody came to me and said, "Do you like these shoes?" And I went, "Nope."

• 53:13Amy Poehler?

  And it helps with directing, doesn't it? Because you just make really fast decisions.

• 53:17Speaker 05

  I say, "Do you know what I do on set?" When I'm directing, I go, "Guys, guys, you suck." And I'll say that. I go, "Oh, my God, you're so bad." We'll be in the middle of a take, I say, "You guys are so bad, I don't know what just happened, but I'm embarrassed for you. Let's cut and try that again." But now they know to laugh, but they also know I'm right.

• 53:37Amy Poehler?

  Yes. And also, you know what I love about you, Mariska, is I knew that you wouldn't...

• 53:41Speaker 05

  Tell me.

• 53:41Amy Poehler?

  I knew you wouldn't do this podcast unless you wanted to.

• 53:45Speaker 05

  I wanted to so bad.

• 53:46Amy Poehler?

  Because I know that you don't really do things you don't want to do.

• 53:49Speaker 05

  Not anymore.

• 53:50Amy Poehler?

  Right, that's the, that's the, that's kinda like the, the reward that one gets. If they're trying to stay true and they're, and they're trying to be a good person.

• 54:00Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 54:00Amy Poehler?

  One of the rewards, if you're paying attention, is you might get to a point where you really try to stay true to what you wanna do.

• 54:07Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 54:08Amy Poehler?

  And so, I get comfort in that, like, you're here because you wanna be here, not because

• 54:13Speaker 05

  Totally.

• 54:13Amy Poehler?

  Someone told you to be here.

• 54:14Speaker 05

  No, exactly.

• 54:15Amy Poehler?

  Okay, but let's get into some real questions.

• 54:17Speaker 05

  Okay.

• 54:17Amy Poehler?

  Okay, so this is rapid fire, speaking of directness.

• 54:20Speaker 05

  Okay.

• 54:21Amy Poehler?

  Rapid fire.

• 54:22Speaker 05

  Let's go.

• 54:22Amy Poehler?

  Jalen Brunson.

• 54:23Speaker 05

  Love. People are so jealous of me.

• 54:27Amy Poehler?

  I know.

• 54:28Speaker 05

  I like it.

• 54:31Amy Poehler?

  The cutest relationship ever. How did that start? He loves you.

• 54:36Speaker 05

  I love him.

• 54:37Amy Poehler?

  I know, you guys love each other.

• 54:38Speaker 05

  I think it started.

• 54:39Amy Poehler?

  New York Knicks, player for the New York Knicks.

• 54:40Speaker 05

  I mean, it's just the sweetest thing. And it's just, it's just like another one of those meant to be. Sometimes I don't even question things. I think Jalen was brought up on SVU.

• 54:50Amy Poehler?

  Mm-hmm.

• 54:51Speaker 05

  You know what I mean? I think his dad, Rick, I, every time I say that, I laugh, it sounds like I'm name dropping Rick. Rick and I were like this. But, um, Rick, Rick, uh, loved SVU, he watched it, Jalen, so I think the first time I went, they were like, oh, like, you know, they, it was in that, and then we connected, and it was just easy and effortless, and I'm, you know, huge basketball fan, and I, I got to meet Jalen also before he was Jalen.

• 55:17Amy Poehler?

  Uh-huh.

• 55:18Speaker 05

  You know, he's Jalen now, these last, what, three, four years, right? But, but it was, it predates that. And so, it's so beautiful, because he, there was just such a, he's so, I mean, he's so sweet. He's such a killer, and such a captain, and such a leader, but he is so, like, soft and mushy and sweet and kind, and he's such a lover of his family, he's so good. And so, um, I just feel so, um, honored to be in his orbit.

• 55:46Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, it's really, really.

• 55:47Speaker 05

  I really do, it's crazy.

• 55:48Amy Poehler?

  It really makes you feel good.

• 55:49Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 55:50Amy Poehler?

  Okay, strange, I'm sure you've had a million of strange things happen to you, shooting in the streets of New York.

• 55:55Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 55:55Amy Poehler?

  Anything that stands out, like a moment of pretty wild New York, um...

• 56:02Amy Poehler?

  Like, you know, only in New York moment.

• 56:04Speaker 05

  Well, there's, you know, there's the old one we're shooting and then people will just come up to us right while we're in the seats and start talking and then be like, "Oh, my God, I love your show." And I'm like, "Well, that's good, because we're actually shooting it right now to see that camera." And they're like, "Oh, my God, hi," and then they keep talking. So that I like.

• 56:19Amy Poehler?

  Okay.

• 56:20Speaker 05

  Or there's the opposite of that when people have said to me, and Chris, Chris was there, I love this one. "I don't really get your show." "I don't get you or your show." And I'm like, "Well, thank you."

• 56:30Amy Poehler?

  Thank you for the in-person feedback.

• 56:32Speaker 05

  Doesn't speak to everyone.

• 56:35Amy Poehler?

  And they go right up and down. Do you think of yourself as a New Yorker now?

• 56:38Speaker 05

  I do.

• 56:38Amy Poehler?

  You do?

• 56:39Speaker 05

  I do now.

• 56:40Amy Poehler?

  Yeah. Okay, what about, um, who should play you in the movie of your life? I always, let's think about this.

• 56:49Speaker 05

  Oh, God, that's a good one.

• 56:51Amy Poehler?

  I mean, it's, because it's like, do we want, do we want?

• 56:56Amy Poehler?

  I feel like it's got a, I feel like it's like a-

• 56:58Speaker 05

  There's this really good girl. I can't think of her name.

• 57:00Amy Poehler?

  I think it's Cate Blanchett.

• 57:04Amy Poehler?

  I think Cate Blanchett plays you in the story of your life.

• 57:06Speaker 05

  I like it. Now, you are really thinking outside the box here, sister.

• 57:09Amy Poehler?

  I want this movie to open, babe.

• 57:11Speaker 05

  Oh, God, I want this movie. I think it's, um, well, I'm gonna go with the Megan Fahey. See how I go?

• 57:17Amy Poehler?

  Nice. Megan Fahey is you in your 20s and 30s on ER, trying to figure it out. And then we go, we cut to the set of SVU and it's Cate Blanchett.

• 57:26Speaker 05

  Beautiful blue eyes, go ahead.

• 57:28Amy Poehler?

  You're right. Okay, um, have you always had such nice hair?

• 57:33Speaker 05

  Yes. Yes, I have.

• 57:34Amy Poehler?

  Your hair is incredible.

• 57:35Speaker 05

  Well, my hair was good.

• 57:37Amy Poehler?

  Was good.

• 57:38Speaker 05

  Well, my hair was good. I didn't love, I had some bad years on SVU when it turned red and short. I did some Martha Washington stuff that was not good.

• 57:47Amy Poehler?

  We always do. We all, we've all been there.

• 57:49Speaker 05

  So there was some stuff that I, there was not good. That combined with like, bad Botox, I had some bad years.

• 57:54Amy Poehler?

  We all have had some, we've all made some choices that we regret.

• 57:57Speaker 05

  Yeah, but we're cute now.

• 57:58Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 57:58Speaker 05

  And we have kind of like, oh, we're just, we're just tousled and loose.

• 58:01Amy Poehler?

  But I have so much fake hair and I don't even want to take it out on the table. It would be horrifying.

• 58:05Speaker 05

  Do you know that I didn't wear fake hair today? Because I was like, I, she said to me-

• 58:09Amy Poehler?

  Because you were like, "Amy's not gonna wear it."

• 58:10Speaker 05

  I know. She goes, "Do you want to put in a piece?" I go, "No." Amy's like, just real and natural and stuff. And she, I just want to be like Amy.

• 58:19Amy Poehler?

  25 pieces of fake hair in. Um, okay.

• 58:23Speaker 05

  Next time I come, should I be invited back?

• 58:25Amy Poehler?

  I want you full volume.

• 58:26Speaker 05

  I'm gonna look like Rapunzel. Okay.

• 58:28Amy Poehler?

  I want full volume. Um, how badly have people screwed up your name?

• 58:33Speaker 05

  Oh, I still live with it. Who was it last night? Oh, I had lunch yesterday. I had a brunch yesterday for my sister and my cousin was there.

• 58:41Amy Poehler?

  Your own cousin?

• 58:42Speaker 05

  I've known him from nineteen, since 1994 and he kept calling me Mariska. And at lunchtime, I go, "Ma-" And then I said, "No, just let it go." And then Chris and my friends, when it happens, because it happens on set a lot now, on the call sheet, it's M-A-R-I-S-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-K-A. That's how I put it on the call sheet, just so people go, "Oh, okay, got it. She's big on the H's." But he was calling me, I get called Maritza, Mariska, Mariska. Um, but Chris will call me, uh, Maritza. At on set.

• 59:17Amy Poehler?

  Just to confuse people.

• 59:18Speaker 05

  Oh, yeah. Maritza, Maritza and Marissa.

• 59:23Amy Poehler?

  You know, I'll tell you who learned it. All of America. And the world, the world learned it, so they got it.

• 59:29Speaker 05

  But it's Mariska, Mariska.

• 59:31Amy Poehler?

  And what does it mean? What's, what does that name mean?

• 59:34Speaker 05

  Oh, gorgeous, talented one, ray of sunshine, queen of, queen of, queen of...

• 59:40Amy Poehler?

  Queen of, queen of, queen of straight talk?

• 59:43Speaker 05

  Yes.

• 59:44Amy Poehler?

  One with thick luxurious hair.

• 59:46Speaker 05

  That's it. Um, it means, it's a nickname for Maria. It means little Maria. In Hungarian, the K-A or K-E on end of a name, it just, it's like a little endearment. So the name is actually Maria, after my grandmother. Both of them, Hungarian and Italian. See the film, people.

• 1:00:06Amy Poehler?

  That's right, on HBO right now.

• 1:00:07Speaker 05

  On HBO right now.

• 1:00:09Amy Poehler?

  Such a good film.

• 1:00:10Speaker 05

  It's such a good, but don't you kind of love that both grandmothers?

• 1:00:13Amy Poehler?

  Beautiful, also Maria.

• 1:00:15Speaker 05

  Maria, Maria.

• 1:00:17Amy Poehler?

  Um, do you, you, you're a Hamilton fan, by the way, because I was about to say.

• 1:00:22Speaker 05

  So hardcore.

• 1:00:22Amy Poehler?

  Me too.

• 1:00:24Speaker 05

  Did you see it 27 times?

• 1:00:26Amy Poehler?

  No.

• 1:00:26Speaker 05

  I win.

• 1:00:27Amy Poehler?

  Two, seven?

• 1:00:29Speaker 05

  Two, seven. And by the way, my claim to fame, and when people say like, "When did you know you were famous?" And I go, "When I would call Hamilton, or just show up at the theater," and they'd go, they'd bring a chair.

• 1:00:40Amy Poehler?

  Oh!

• 1:00:41Speaker 05

  Put it in the audience, and I'd be like...

• 1:00:42Amy Poehler?

  That's right, that's right. You earned that, you earned that.

• 1:00:44Speaker 05

  I was so like, "I've made it."

• 1:00:46Amy Poehler?

  You earned that.

• 1:00:46Speaker 05

  I don't even have to have a ticket. You know how much those tickets were?

• 1:00:49Amy Poehler?

  No, they were like, "Let's get Mariska her chair."

• 1:00:52Speaker 05

  Just get her her chair. I was like the old woman, I didn't even mind.

• 1:00:54Amy Poehler?

  You went by yourself.

• 1:00:55Speaker 05

  And I'm going in with a cane.

• 1:00:59Amy Poehler?

  That is a twenty-seven times?

• 1:01:01Speaker 05

  I know. And I just had this, a great actor on SVU, last episode, and he's now in the show, and so he was like, "I hope you come." And I go, "Oh, I'll be there." So I'm, it's even a thing where the new cast members want me to come see you.

• 1:01:14Amy Poehler?

  Oh, that's...

• 1:01:15Speaker 05

  And I was like, "That's a sweet thing."

• 1:01:16Amy Poehler?

  Have you ever done Broadway?

• 1:01:18Speaker 05

  Broadway?

• 1:01:19Amy Poehler?

  Yes, that's how, that's how you're supposed to say it.

• 1:01:21Speaker 05

  Well, thank you.

• 1:01:22Amy Poehler?

  Broadway, that's how they used to say it.

• 1:01:24Speaker 05

  No, I want to do Broadway.

• 1:01:25Amy Poehler?

  Broadway?

• 1:01:25Speaker 05

  I want to be in an all-woman Hamilton.

• 1:01:29Speaker 05

  Right? You and me with straight talk?

• 1:01:32Amy Poehler?

  Okay, who would we do?

• 1:01:33Speaker 05

  Wait a minute, we would be Aaron Burr and, and, and Hamilton.

• 1:01:36Amy Poehler?

  Well, who's who? Let's get, let's take a minute, let's go slow.

• 1:01:40Speaker 05

  Okay, let's start, yeah, thank you. Slow it all down right now.

• 1:01:42Amy Poehler?

  Who's who? Aaron Burr, 'cause...

• 1:01:46Speaker 05

  I think I, I think, I think you might, I think I might be Aaron Burr.

• 1:01:52Amy Poehler?

  I, that's what I was gonna say.

• 1:01:53Speaker 05

  You swear?

• 1:01:54Amy Poehler?

  Yes, and not just because I want to be Hamilton.

• 1:01:56Speaker 05

  I want you to be Hamilton, and I feel like I could get the rage.

• 1:02:00Amy Poehler?

  I, I, I think, I think you have a gravitas that Aaron Burr needs, 'cause, and I think I have a, um, like a, uh,

• 1:02:12Amy Poehler?

  like a...

• 1:02:13Speaker 05

  I know all the lines, though, do you?

• 1:02:14Amy Poehler?

  An energy. I don't know all the lines.

• 1:02:17Speaker 05

  Okay, I get, you, maybe you should do both. But you just do there, and then you lip sync to me?

• 1:02:24Speaker 05

  But the only problem is one thing, I can't sing.

• 1:02:27Amy Poehler?

  You can't sing.

• 1:02:28Speaker 05

  No, but maybe we do it like in top speed.

• 1:02:29Amy Poehler?

  Well, God is fair. Mariska, you can't sing. One thing you can't do, babe.

• 1:02:34Speaker 05

  We can't sing.

• 1:02:35Amy Poehler?

  One thing, you can't sing.

• 1:02:37Speaker 05

  Oh, that's funny. Ask me more questions.

• 1:02:39Amy Poehler?

  Okay, okay. Okay, what's making you laugh these days? What do you, was it what I ask, I always ask my guests, what do you like, what do you listen to, do, read, like, you know, to lighten up, to laugh?

• 1:02:52Speaker 05

  Nate Bargatze.

• 1:02:53Amy Poehler?

  Oh, love Nate.

• 1:02:54Speaker 05

  He's my fave.

• 1:02:55Amy Poehler?

  He's so funny.

• 1:02:56Speaker 05

  I'm so, I don't even know who, I don't even understand what he's doing.

• 1:02:58Amy Poehler?

  Okay, let's break him down because I love him.

• 1:03:00Speaker 05

  Well, it's the, it's, he's like mastered this like kind of slow guy that's a genius. Right? That's the shtick, right? He's like, he's kind of slow and dumb, but he's smarter than everyone.

• 1:03:11Amy Poehler?

  Yes.

• 1:03:12Speaker 05

  I love him so much, and can I tell you why also I love him? I was at, in LA, didn't know who he was, and I was with my friend, and she said, I think that's Nate Bargatze. And I said, who's Nate Bargatze? And he goes, that's August's favorite comedian.

• 1:03:27Amy Poehler?

  Oh.

• 1:03:27Speaker 05

  So I went up to him and I go, are you Nate Bargatze? Hoping, hoping I'm saying it right.

• 1:03:33Amy Poehler?

  And he was like, we're shooting right now.

• 1:03:34Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 1:03:37Speaker 05

  And he goes, yeah, I am. And I go, well, I, my son loves you. Can we call him?

• 1:03:43Amy Poehler?

  Mariska, you did not.

• 1:03:44Speaker 05

  Yeah, I swear to God. No, I swear to you. I swear to you, I did. And you know why I did it? Because do you know how many people do that to me? And I thought that I had good karma. I had good call karma. And you know what he said?

• 1:03:54Amy Poehler?

  Yeah?

• 1:03:55Speaker 05

  And so we called him, and I'm like, August.

• 1:03:58Amy Poehler?

  You did not.

• 1:03:59Speaker 05

  Bargatze. And he's like, hey, man, I love him.

• 1:04:02Amy Poehler?

  Love him. He's so funny. Do you, do you watch a lot of stand-up? Do you like to go to see stand-up?

• 1:04:07Speaker 05

  I love good, I love good comedy. It's my happy, that is my happy place. August, that's what we love.

• 1:04:15Amy Poehler?

  Mm-hmm.

• 1:04:16Speaker 05

  But I'm also critical.

• 1:04:18Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 1:04:18Speaker 05

  They're not funny.

• 1:04:19Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 1:04:20Speaker 05

  And I don't know who I have to judge.

• 1:04:21Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, you can judge as much as you want.

• 1:04:22Speaker 05

  I guess what I like.

• 1:04:23Amy Poehler?

  I feel like comedy is like music.

• 1:04:24Speaker 05

  Yeah, that's true.

• 1:04:25Amy Poehler?

  You just like who you like, you like what, like you like their song, whatever it is.

• 1:04:30Speaker 05

  I love it.

• 1:04:31Amy Poehler?

  And I love Nate. And, and.

• 1:04:32Speaker 05

  I love, you know what I'm listening to later in the night before I go to bed? I don't know why I love it so much. Is that Jim Carrey bit doing Vanilla Ice?

• 1:04:41Amy Poehler?

  Hold on. Okay, it's an In Living Color sketch.

• 1:04:43Speaker 05

  Yes. This is it.

• 1:04:45Amy Poehler?

  And he's dancing?

• 1:04:46Speaker 05

  Watch, just listen to it.

• 1:04:48Amy Poehler?

  Oh my God, he really looks like him. He kicks, he kicks his shoe off. Just watch.

• 1:05:00Speaker 05

  Is that not the best thing?

• 1:05:02Amy Poehler?

  This was so fun.

• 1:05:03Speaker 05

  I know, but can you imagine how excited? Because I said, "I used to see you around."

• 1:05:08Amy Poehler?

  Well, we are, I know.

• 1:05:09Speaker 05

  And I don't even, I don't see you anymore. And I remember, I remember.

• 1:05:14Amy Poehler?

  What do you remember?

• 1:05:15Speaker 05

  Just that you're good and sparkly and beautiful and kind and you bring joy.

• 1:05:19Amy Poehler?

  Thanks, Mariska.

• 1:05:20Speaker 05

  And Chris doesn't like anyone.

• 1:05:21Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 1:05:23Speaker 05

  He really is a very judicious guy. And he loves his family, he loves his kids, and he has like three friends, he likes me.

• 1:05:31Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 1:05:32Speaker 05

  And that's pretty much it. And I just remembered, like, he just loved you.

• 1:05:38Amy Poehler?

  Oh, that's nice.

• 1:05:40Speaker 05

  And so I, it's, um...

• 1:05:41Amy Poehler?

  That's very nice to say.

• 1:05:42Speaker 05

  I was so funny that I called him today.

• 1:05:44Amy Poehler?

  Okay, Mariska, you're the best.

• 1:05:46Speaker 05

  This was so fun. I told you. She's like, "Are you ready?" I was like, "Sweetheart, I'm born ready."

• 1:05:53Amy Poehler?

  Thank you so much, Mariska. That was so fun. That was such a good hang. And you know, in this polar plunge, I just want to take a second to say, let's picture a world in which Cate Blanchett plays Mariska Hargitay in a movie of her life story. Because I would watch it. And if there's any producers or financiers listening who want to partner up with me on that, and Kate, if someone can get this message to Kate, I think that that would be a great project. And I've been asked before, "If your life was a movie, who would you want to play you?" And my answer is very simple, and that is Meryl Streep.

• 1:06:35Amy Poehler?

  I want the best, and I can't guarantee the movie will be good or interesting in any way. Honestly, it'll probably be a flop. But Meryl at the helm, it's going to be a good performance. So, Meryl, Kate and Meryl, I'm assuming you're together? Please, please call us at 1-800-GOOD-HANG-the-movie, hashtag Mariska Hargitay's movie, hashtag slash life, life rights. And we'll get this going. Okay, sorry, I've lost, I've lost the plot. Okay, bye, thanks for listening, bye.

• 1:07:12Amy Poehler?

  You've been listening to Good Hang. The executive producers for this show are Bill Simmons, Jenna Weiss-Berman, and me, Amy Poehler. The show is produced by The Ringer and Paperkite. For The Ringer, production by Jack Wilson, Kat Spillane, Kaya McMullin, and Aleia Zaneras. For Paperkite, production by Sam Green, Joel Lovell, and Jenna Weiss-Berman. Original music by Amy Miles.

• 1:07:37Amy Poehler?

  This episode is brought to you by Allstate. Checking Allstate first could save you hundreds on car insurance. Not checking which group chat you're typing in before hitting send? Next thing you know, you sent a scalding hot take about the restaurant to the group with the person who picked it. Yikes. Yeah, checking first is a good idea, so check Allstate first for an auto quote. It could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate. Potential savings vary, subject to terms, conditions, and availability. Allstate North American Insurance Company and Affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois. This episode is brought to you by Caesar. Dog parents, what do you have on the menu tonight? If you're looking to serve your favorite four-legged friend high-quality wet dog food they'll be genuinely excited about,

• 1:08:21Amy Poehler?

  we say, just eat Caesar. Whether it's a protein-rich beef recipe on Monday or a savory chicken and vegetable dinner on Wednesday, Caesar offers a variety of delicious meals made with freshly crafted, slow-cooked ingredients, all designed to support your dog's everyday nutrition without compromise. That's real variety, real ingredients, and real excitement at mealtime. So if you're looking to serve a meal your dog actually looks forward to every single day, they should totally just eat Caesar. Learn more at Caesar.com. Your dog will thank you.