JOHN C. REILLY Talks Step Brothers, Empathy, New Album

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

• 0:00Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Boar's Head. You know what I love about football season? It's the football, but also the football watching food. And nothing hits like a Boar's Head sandwich when I'm watching the game. Really, any game day sandwich better with Boar's Head. Philly cheesesteak, layer up buttery slider rolls with Boar's Head London broil roast beef, American white cheese, and picante provolone. Delicious. Then add roasted onions, peppers, and Boar's Head pub-style horseradish sauce. I love horseradish. And you've got the ultimate game day cheesesteak. They've also got a whole lineup of premium meats, cheeses, hummus and dips, condiments and more to serve up on game day. Head to your local Boar's Head deli counter to shop now. For game day sandwich inspiration and more, visit boar'shead.com. Boar's Head, committed to craft since 1905. This episode is brought to you by The Home Depot.

• 0:45Speaker 00

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• 1:13Adam Friedland?

  You're six foot 11.

• 1:14Speaker 02

  Six two.

• 1:15Adam Friedland?

  Six two? That's nice, dude. For Hollywood, that's a Hollywood 6'8".

• 1:20Speaker 02

  Well, people over six feet don't actually care about how tall they are.

• 1:24Adam Friedland?

  Oh, they don't care.

• 1:25Speaker 02

  It's the shorter people that are like, "I'm 5'8 1/2".

• 1:29Adam Friedland?

  5'8 1/2 is, I would, I'm a, thank God I'm 5'10". Every inch is so like.

• 1:35Speaker 02

  I used to put 5'10" on my resume because I didn't.

• 1:38Adam Friedland?

  That is so annoying. I hate that.

• 1:40Speaker 02

  You wanted to be below six feet so you didn't seem too tall.

• 1:45Adam Friedland?

  My culture is not a costume, sir. You can't, well, I imagine like.

• 1:50Speaker 02

  You're a real culture warrior. I didn't know that.

• 1:52Adam Friedland?

  Only about this one topic.

• 2:23Adam Friedland?

  Welcome back to the Adam Friedland Show. I'm Adam Friedland. I'm going back on the road, end of this month. Emerald City Comedy Club, Seattle, Washington, January 22nd and 24th. Five shows with Caleb Pitts. Get tickets at emeraldcitycomedy.com. There's a link in the description below. Guys, also, Happy New Year. And I'd like to thank all of our members here on YouTube.com. You guys are fueling us into the new year. You make our show popular. Seriously, thank you, guys. If you'd like to join, members get access to all the episodes early. And if you pay a little bit more, a couple shekels more, at the second and third tier, you get your name in the credits of this fine program. If you'd like to join the Friedland Family Foundation,

• 3:07Adam Friedland?

  you can do so by clicking "Join" here on YouTube, or by clicking the link in the description below. Also, there's a Patreon set up. If you prefer to use Patreon, link is below as well. And there's merch, the Adam Friedland Show. Fucking get the, it's get the merch. I mean, it was just the holiday season. Just buy the crap. So we can get Obama on the show. My guest this week is Mr. Romantic himself, John C. Riley. He's hitting the road in 2016. You can get tickets.

• 3:44Speaker 03

  2026, 2016 was 10 years ago.

• 3:46Adam Friedland?

  Guys, it's been a long year. This is not January 15th.

• 3:53Speaker 03

  This goes out January.

• 3:54Adam Friedland?

  What day, or December 15th?

• 3:56Speaker 03

  This is December 15th.

• 3:57Adam Friedland?

  My brain is shutting down, guys. This is the last thing I have to do of the year. I'll be back second week. Okay, no. My guest this week is the legendary actor John C. Riley. His new live act, Mr. Romantic, is hitting the road in 2026. Get tickets at mrromantic.com. They're also selling these awesome Mr. Romantic black plates. What is it?

• 4:24Adam Friedland?

  They're also selling these... This is so stupid. This is, Caleb, this is one of the stupidest ones.

• 4:33Adam Friedland?

  It's not even black.

• 4:38Speaker 03

  I had nothing for this one. I put all these on one day and then this one.

• 4:42Adam Friedland?

  Wait, one minute, okay. Guys, they're also selling these Mr. Romantic black plates.

• 4:49Adam Friedland?

  No, I'm leaving your copy as you wrote it. Play with the vinyl record in a way that damages it.

• 4:55Speaker 03

  No.

• 4:57Adam Friedland?

  Please enjoy my conversation with John C. Reilly, guys. Thank you.

• 5:03Adam Friedland?

  Boogie Nights. That boy had a big penis. Ladies and gentlemen, it is an honor to introduce a legendary American actor and now folk artist, John C. Reilly, everyone. Give it up for him. Be big.

• 5:18Speaker 02

  Thank you very much.

• 5:21Adam Friedland?

  The talk show debut. How are you?

• 5:24Speaker 02

  Thanks for having me, Adam. I'm good.

• 5:27Adam Friedland?

  It's thrilling to have you here. I don't know, you've been tricked or something? I feel like I lied in a make-a-wish scenario and now I'm like, you have to hang out with me.

• 5:38Speaker 02

  No, I wasn't tricked. Someone said this is a good idea.

• 5:41Adam Friedland?

  Well, you were lied to.

• 5:42Speaker 02

  But I've never seen your show, I have to admit that.

• 5:44Adam Friedland?

  Really?

• 5:45Speaker 02

  Yeah. Was I supposed to do homework or something?

• 5:47Adam Friedland?

  Oh, no, no. Well, I thought you were a member of the Manosphere, just like me. Like, I thought you were...

• 5:51Speaker 02

  Oh, you're a member of the Manosphere?

• 5:53Adam Friedland?

  I do... I thought we were gonna talk MMA. I thought we were gonna talk, uh, what's that? Sex change or something, I don't know.

• 6:01Speaker 02

  Well, I'm trying to stay abreast of contemporary topics, but, yeah, I don't know.

• 6:04Adam Friedland?

  I don't pay attention.

• 6:05Speaker 02

  I don't have much to say about MMA, other than it's too violent.

• 6:10Adam Friedland?

  Really?

• 6:10Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 6:11Adam Friedland?

  I think it's not violent enough, if you ask me. No, I've only watched it, like, recently. And it kind of, there was something there. I didn't expect for something to be there, but I was like, there's something about like these guys who are like, they put everything into it and it's a, there's a passion that I, that I was a discernible.

• 6:30Speaker 02

  Well, when I was a kid, I was a wrestler for a while because like one of the only kind of sports that we thought was cool in my tough little neighborhood in Chicago. And wrestling is one of the most humiliating things to lose at.

• 6:44Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 6:45Speaker 02

  Because like a baseball team, like you're like, well, I missed the bat and some of the other guys also got struck out, so our team lost. When someone beats you at wrestling, you have tried with every ounce of anything you have to get them off you and you failed. And you get pinned and you've lost. So it's so deeply humiliating that, um, yeah, I don't know where I'm going with this.

• 7:08Adam Friedland?

  You were like Andy Kaufman, like.

• 7:10Speaker 02

  No, like real wrestling.

• 7:11Adam Friedland?

  Wrestling girls. Oh, no.

• 7:13Speaker 02

  No, no, no.

• 7:14Adam Friedland?

  Except the way you were talking about the humiliation was as if.

• 7:17Speaker 02

  Well, it is. I mean, you want to wrestle? Like, I'll show you what it's like.

• 7:20Adam Friedland?

  You're a big, you're a tall glass of water. I don't want to wrestle. I don't wrestle. No, I love you, dude. I'm a huge fan, man. It's really cool. I mean, historically, I'd say probably since I was 15, my favorite movie's probably been Boogie Nights. I think it still is. I think it's kind of the, that and Barry Lyndon are my two favorite movies and.

• 7:40Speaker 02

  Barry Lyndon.

• 7:41Adam Friedland?

  They're kind of similar movies, right? They're like rise and fall movies.

• 7:44Speaker 02

  That's true, yeah.

• 7:45Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, like a Nimrod is like, nature forces him upwards, like a leaf being blown around in the wind.

• 7:51Speaker 02

  Is he a Nimrod at the beginning? I think, yeah.

• 7:54Adam Friedland?

  Eddie?

• 7:55Speaker 02

  Yeah, Eddie Adams from Toronto.

• 7:56Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, well, he's a sweet boy. Yeah, yeah. His mom's mean to him. It's just a very special film for me because it's a, yeah, I mean, there's also a lot of Altman in it too. And like, it just got me into movies, I would say.

• 8:12Speaker 02

  Paul just made a new 70 millimeter print of Boogie Nights, which I highly recommend. You see, it was a revelation. I,

• 8:19Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 8:20Speaker 02

  They screened it a couple of times in LA recently and. I mean, the photography, of course, in a 70 millimeter print is incredible, but the sound was so much better. You realize like a bigger negative has more room for audio information and it was like, yeah, it was like another movie in a way.

• 8:40Adam Friedland?

  It's really cool to revisit movies like that in a cinema and like kind of, because I never saw it in the cinema, right? I was like, I rented it from Blockbuster because I heard that it had sex. You know? Like, I saw a taxi driver in the movie theater only recently. I'd seen that movie a hundred times, right? But I wasn't alive when it was like out in the theaters. And it played like a comedy, right? So, which is...

• 9:04Speaker 02

  It played like a comedy in the theater?

• 9:06Adam Friedland?

  In the theater.

• 9:08Speaker 02

  Interesting.

• 9:08Adam Friedland?

  And it is kind of funny.

• 9:09Speaker 02

  Is that because everyone knows the movie so well already? And there's iconic lines and whatever?

• 9:14Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, maybe it's like...

• 9:16Speaker 02

  You looking at me?

• 9:17Adam Friedland?

  It is funny to take a girl on a date that you're like creeping on to a porn theater.

• 9:22Speaker 02

  He called you a piece of chicken.

• 9:23Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 9:24Speaker 02

  He called you a piece of chicken.

• 9:26Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, and like a pimp looks like Michael Jackson, basically, yeah. But like, yeah, to think that this is what adults do. Like, this bizarre guy thinks that adults, like, when you have a crush on a girl, you take her to a dirty movie. Like, that is very funny.

• 9:42Speaker 02

  Travis, Travis Pickle might not be like your average dategoer. Yeah, I worked with Jodie Foster and I think that was a really surreal moment in her life, too.

• 9:53Adam Friedland?

  I mean...

• 9:54Speaker 02

  She came off doing Bugsy Malone, this kids' musical.

• 9:58Adam Friedland?

  She was like a 45-year-old, like, 10-year-old, you know what I mean?

• 10:03Speaker 02

  In a way, but you know why? Because she was acting since she was literally a baby and she was the main breadwinner of her family. So, she was a veteran. In fact, she told me, I was like, because I love the movie Bugsy Malone, I don't know if you've ever seen it?

• 10:15Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, of course, yeah, yeah.

• 10:17Speaker 02

  This great gangster movie that's all played by kids and they shoot custard at each other.

• 10:22Adam Friedland?

  Have you seen the Biggie video that rips that off? The Notorious B.I.G. video?

• 10:25Speaker 02

  No.

• 10:25Adam Friedland?

  The sky's the limit, I think, but it's all kids rap. Like, and there's a little kid rapping, anyway, go ahead.

• 10:31Speaker 02

  But Jodie said, I was like, what was it like on Bugsy Malone like this one? It must have been so cool.

• 10:36Adam Friedland?

  She was like tortured.

• 10:37Speaker 02

  It was really hard because I was a professional actor. I was someone who had so much... I've been acting since I was an infant, literally. And all these other kids were like, sometimes, maybe... What's his name, Scott Baio maybe had some experience, but all the other kids were just like found off the streets, like whatever, first time actors.

• 10:57Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 10:57Speaker 02

  And they were just regular kids.

• 10:59Adam Friedland?

  Amateurs.

• 11:00Speaker 02

  Yeah, and they thought she was like, they almost like treated her like one of the adults or something.

• 11:04Adam Friedland?

  She got bullied. Sounds like she got bullied.

• 11:07Speaker 02

  A little bit, yeah, a little bit.

• 11:08Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, it's interesting because actually like when I had a partner, Nick, who worked on the show with me and he's now doing other stuff, but we directed kids. Nick wrote this short that we made and it was amazing because the kids communicating intention to a child actor and like a kid understanding like emotion and intention is really difficult because you have to be really emotionally intelligent, right? Like, and the kids we had on it like got it and it's like it was really incredible to like see it and like also to see Nick like communicating it over to them. And you know, like when you watch Disney Channel, right? They're like, today I went to the store. You know, they can remember the words, but it's difficult.

• 11:52Speaker 02

  They're more like little robots.

• 11:53Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 11:54Speaker 02

  And they've been practicing with their parents all day, yeah. I've directed a lot of children's theater, actually.

• 11:59Adam Friedland?

  I wanted, I wanted to go there, yeah.

• 12:01Speaker 02

  I've worked with kids from all ages in theater and it's an amazing experience to watch someone, like the therapeutic qualities of theater and acting, like with little kids that are not necessarily, like I did this at a Waldorf school and it was part of the curriculum. It wasn't like these kids wanted to be actors. Like, maybe, maybe one of them had some interest or something, but all the other kids, it was just what they had to do for class. So I watched how acting can like bring someone out of themselves and we used to cast the plays in that way too. Like, like, you know, we did like, we do like Norse myths or like Greek stories or whatever. And one of them was Thor betrayed. And all the kids were like, oh no, so and so, Adam should be Thor. He's, Adam should be Thor.

• 12:46Adam Friedland?

  No, certainly not. Yeah, yeah, I don't have that, I don't have it.

• 12:48Speaker 02

  And so, but we wouldn't pick that kid. We would pick the kid who needed to be Thor.

• 12:52Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 12:53Speaker 02

  Because there was something about him that needed to grow and so you let him be Thor. And suddenly, you know, anyway, it was really beautiful.

• 13:00Adam Friedland?

  That sounds like some participation trophy, snowflake kind of, uh, no, I'm just kidding. But like, you're like, it's, it's a kid like finding out like who they are and like finding their inner strength. Yeah, it's kind of cool.

• 13:11Speaker 02

  But I was, when you mentioned Taxi Driver, I was, I always think about Jodie because here's someone, she was probably pre-sexual in her own life, you know? I don't know, but she played like a floozy.

• 13:27Adam Friedland?

  An adult.

• 13:28Speaker 02

  In Bugsy Malone, she plays like a, uh, what do you call it? Like a burlesque dancer.

• 13:33Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 13:34Speaker 02

  Then she goes from that to playing a prostitute in Taxi Driver, like, oh, when she's pre-sexual or whatever, like not, I don't know. That must have been a really confusing time to be a young woman in the movies, like.

• 13:47Adam Friedland?

  I feel like I can't do that. That's, that's kind of old.

• 13:50Speaker 02

  And yet there's still, whatever, these movies are still beloved movies somehow, but I watched Bugsy Malone. That's the one part I'm like, hmm, I don't know, this sexy outfits is a little.

• 14:02Adam Friedland?

  It's rough. When did you start acting? When you were a kid?

• 14:05Speaker 02

  I was about eight years old, yeah. But not professionally.

• 14:08Adam Friedland?

  You were doing theater, like at school? Yeah, community theater.

• 14:10Speaker 02

  At the park near my house.

• 14:12Adam Friedland?

  I was in Midsummer Night's Dream, fifth grade, as Puck.

• 14:16Speaker 02

  As Puck? Wow. You had like one of the leads.

• 14:18Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, yeah, but I had to wear tights and I was really scared about it. Yeah, yeah, and, uh.

• 14:23Speaker 02

  Were you tall as a kid?

• 14:25Adam Friedland?

  Oh, actually, pre-cubity.

• 14:27Speaker 02

  I don't know how tall you are, but you seem long and lanky.

• 14:29Adam Friedland?

  What are you doing right now? What are you, what are you saying?

• 14:31Speaker 02

  You called me a tall, but you didn't drink your water.

• 14:33Adam Friedland?

  You're six foot, oh, you're six foot eleven.

• 14:35Speaker 02

  Six two.

• 14:35Adam Friedland?

  Six two? How's it fit? That's nice, dude. For Hollywood, that's a Hollywood six eight.

• 14:41Speaker 02

  Well, people over six foot don't actually care about how tall they are.

• 14:45Adam Friedland?

  Oh, they don't care.

• 14:46Speaker 02

  It's the shorter people that are like, I'm five eight and a half.

• 14:49Adam Friedland?

  Five eight and a half is, I would, I'm a, thank God I'm five ten. Every inch is so like uh.

• 14:56Speaker 02

  I used to put five ten on my resume because I didn't.

• 14:58Adam Friedland?

  That is so annoying. I hate that.

• 15:00Speaker 02

  You wanted to be below six feet so you didn't seem too tall.

• 15:05Adam Friedland?

  My culture is not a costume, sir. You can't. Well, I imagine like.

• 15:11Speaker 02

  You're a real culture warrior. I didn't know that.

• 15:13Adam Friedland?

  Only about this one topic. No, no, I don't care anymore. But like, um, no, I hit puberty late. So, um, so everyone sprouted. It's kind of fucked up because you're with everyone your age, right? But there's some guy that looks forty five and I looked like six.

• 15:31Speaker 02

  Well, when you direct kids theater, you see the girls are like this and then some of the guys are like, "Hey, wanna go on a date?" You know, like the, the difference in their development is insane, but I also bloomed kind of late in terms of my tallness. And when you did finally grow, were you a little bit like, "Oh, yeah. How you like me now?"

• 15:49Adam Friedland?

  No, I was like, I, I was mad at God. I was like, "How dare you?" I was like, "No, yeah, I was like just counting. I was counting pubes."

• 15:57Speaker 02

  He's not listening.

• 15:58Adam Friedland?

  He's not really. I literally, yeah, when I got one, I was like.

• 16:01Speaker 02

  He or she are not listening.

• 16:03Adam Friedland?

  There's nothing, there's nothing up there, dude. You know what, what's up there? Frickin', just.

• 16:10Speaker 02

  He seemed confident.

• 16:11Adam Friedland?

  I was gonna say, I, I thought I was gonna come up with something good and I started a sentence I had nothing. Rock and roll, dude.

• 16:19Adam Friedland?

  You know what's up there? The only God I believe in is frickin' rock and roll, dude.

• 16:22Speaker 02

  There's gotta be something. There's gotta be something. I'm not saying I know what it is. I'm not saying it's God or Jesus or whatever.

• 16:29Adam Friedland?

  I think it's love, dude. Seriously.

• 16:32Speaker 02

  Are we gonna be a smart ass the whole time?

• 16:34Adam Friedland?

  No, no, seriously.

• 16:35Speaker 02

  Or we're gonna have a real conversation? I thought this was like Dick Cavett where we could actually get into some fucking ideas here.

• 16:40Adam Friedland?

  Cut that, cut that.

• 16:41Speaker 02

  Instead of just snarky bullshit, smart alecky.

• 16:43Adam Friedland?

  I said it sarcastically, but, um, I watched Magnolia recently and after losing a parent, it hits completely different.

• 16:53Adam Friedland?

  And it was like, I loved that film and then it was a completely different film. I lost my mother and that was the first time, I said love sarcasm, I'm such a shit guy. Why do I like, I act like crap, but like, the only thing, as a transformative experience, that I like, it was like, the first time I realized what's the point, is that like, yeah, it's like having love and giving love, the fact that we were all together.

• 17:19Speaker 02

  I think Paul asked his dad shortly before we made that movie, so it was definitely coming from a personal place with him.

• 17:25Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 17:26Speaker 02

  The question people always ask me about that movie is like, what's up with the frogs? Why the frogs, why the frogs? Well, the first thing is that it's real, frogs do fall out of the sky. Philip Baker Hall, who's in that movie, experienced a reign of frogs.

• 17:39Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 17:39Speaker 02

  In the 50s in Germany, where he was working for the government, anyway.

• 17:44Adam Friedland?

  He was a spy?

• 17:45Speaker 02

  Yeah, he worked for like the precursor to the CIA, what was it called?

• 17:50Adam Friedland?

  The Naval Intelligence.

• 17:53Speaker 02

  Yeah, they had another name for it before, then he would, in post-war Germany, he would drive around and do the government's bidding.

• 17:59Adam Friedland?

  Those guys had amazing lives.

• 18:01Speaker 02

  But the point is that frogs falling out of the sky makes about as much sense to a person as getting hit by lightning, or your father or mother getting cancer, like, it doesn't make any sense.

• 18:14Adam Friedland?

  Chaos.

• 18:15Speaker 02

  It's this thing that happens to us, you know, and I think, Paul's never explained to me what he felt the metaphor was, but to me, that's what it is, like, your father dying of cancer, like, well, my father died of cancer, and you know, I asked the doctor, like, what, so what is it? And they were like, well, it's a tumor, blah, blah, blah, and I was like, so what, what is that?

• 18:37Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, like, what's the tumor?

• 18:38Speaker 02

  Why did it happen? He's like, you know, I realized, like, you don't know anything.

• 18:43Adam Friedland?

  They're idiots.

• 18:43Speaker 02

  This is very primitive where we are with this science, and so, yeah, it might as well have been a reign of frogs.

• 18:50Adam Friedland?

  You're like an incredible comedic actor, right? And like, you're one of the best, like, and I kind of just like, coming from a theater background, I can imagine like, you know, there's some classically trained actors that, you know, just can't play comedy, you know, and like, Coming from your background in the theater, like, how did you kind of learn that? Or is it inherent to you?

• 19:14Speaker 02

  It's funny that you... I actually don't think of myself as a comedian or like a comedic actor per se. I think I'm just an actor, someone who really, who knows how to commit to make-believe ideas and believe that they're true and believe that they're true for me, you know? Like, someone like Will Ferrell is a brilliant comedian. You know, he can make, literally reading the phone book, funny. Because he just has some kind of magical quality, you know? Like, who else is like that?

• 19:42Adam Friedland?

  Step Brothers is one of the funniest comedians ever.

• 19:44Speaker 02

  Yeah, so I understand that I have been funny in things. I accept that. I'm not like saying like I'm not a funny person. Like, I've been in funny things, I get it. But my approach is totally different than a comedian. My approach is like, okay, what are the facts of what we're talking about? Okay, this, this, this. We're gonna go chop pumpkins in the garage with a samurai sword.

• 20:04Adam Friedland?

  That's funny.

• 20:05Speaker 02

  And if you commit fully to that, like it's a serious thing, you're in a comedy. Like, that's how I know how to do it.

• 20:10Adam Friedland?

  If Chris Farley's doing that, it's funny. Because there's an inherent...

• 20:14Speaker 02

  But that's another guy. He just, he can just will something to be funny.

• 20:18Adam Friedland?

  Brother, you've got the sauce. You have the sauce. I'm saying it. I know, I mean, it's not, who cares?

• 20:24Speaker 02

  Maybe I have the sauce because I don't think I have the sauce.

• 20:26Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, of course. Yeah, I mean, in Step Brothers, like, you know, the basic premise of like, two unemployed 40-year-old men behaving like 11-year-olds. I mean, it's just like, it's always going to be funny.

• 20:37Speaker 02

  Yeah, it's the same. We took stories from our lives when we were 11 years old and we did, and we told them as 40-year-olds, like, therefore it's a comedy. You know, like, yeah, a lot of that stuff really happened to me, you know? One of my brothers played the drums and would inspect the drumsticks. If there were any marks, he'd be like, "You, I know you touched my drums." That was all real. That was just real for my life. I got jumped by a gang of kids once when I was... Me and my friends were out looking to try to start a gang fight with the Catholic school. I went to a public school.

• 21:07Speaker 02

  They all ended up going to a liquor store to try to get beer. And I was alone and I got jumped by the other gang.

• 21:12Adam Friedland?

  They left you?

• 21:13Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 21:14Adam Friedland?

  They abandoned you?

• 21:14Speaker 02

  And like this.

• 21:15Adam Friedland?

  They're comrades.

• 21:16Speaker 02

  It was like, you know, like the flying monkeys in The Wizard of Oz, like, ah! Like, just tearing me apart.

• 21:22Adam Friedland?

  You got a couple in, though? Or it was just a melee?

• 21:24Speaker 02

  No, no. I said, he's like, "What school are you from?" Because it was kind of a school-based gang fight scenario. And I was like, "I'm from Eberhart, but I didn't come to boof!" Like, punched right in the face before I could even say, "I didn't come to fight." And I was just trying to, like, talk my way out of this, like, anyway.

• 21:40Adam Friedland?

  Because of the school your parents put you to, like I said, you two, that's so funny, though. It's so arbitrary.

• 21:46Speaker 02

  It's very, like, Chicago is very, like, little, you know, kingdoms, little city-states.

• 21:50Adam Friedland?

  Where in Chicago are you from?

• 21:51Speaker 02

  The south side, Marquette Park, yeah.

• 21:53Adam Friedland?

  Um, yeah, I was just there. It's a, it's kind of like a...

• 21:56Speaker 02

  It has a very bad reputation among Jewish people in Chicago.

• 21:59Adam Friedland?

  Jewish people have a bad reputation there?

• 22:01Speaker 02

  No. Marquette Park has a very bad reputation among Jewish people in Chicago. Because the neo-Nazis of the 1970s started in Marquette Park. No, they didn't, they went to Skokie.

• 22:12Adam Friedland?

  That was a Supreme Court case, right?

• 22:13Speaker 02

  They were from Marquette Park, my neighborhood. Frank Collins and all those goons that started the neo-Nazi movement in Marquette Park. Because there was this big black-white divide and he realized, like, this is the perfect place to be a Nazi. He went to Skokie to march because it was primarily a Jewish neighborhood.

• 22:30Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, there were a lot of Holocaust survivors there, too.

• 22:31Speaker 02

  Exactly. So, anyway.

• 22:36Speaker 02

  Swap the music?

• 22:38Adam Friedland?

  What do you want to do?

• 22:39Speaker 02

  Oh, I don't care.

• 22:42Adam Friedland?

  Thanks for...

• 22:42Speaker 02

  I mean, obviously, that's why I came here, was to talk about my new album, Mr. Romantic.

• 22:46Adam Friedland?

  We're gonna, we're gonna talk about it because I want to talk about music for a while.

• 22:50Speaker 02

  Isn't this kind of a Jewish phrase? "What's not to love?"

• 22:53Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, yeah. "To love? What's not?"

• 22:55Speaker 02

  Exactly.

• 22:57Adam Friedland?

  Love?

• 22:57Speaker 02

  So, I am a little Jewish. I named my album that.

• 22:59Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, it's, uh, let's, I don't want to swap the music yet, though. Because I want to talk, like, a little bit more film. And then, I mean, you want to stay forever. You want to have a sleepover.

• 23:10Speaker 02

  Whatever, man.

• 23:10Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 23:11Speaker 02

  You know, I was excited to be on the Dick Cavett Show, but...

• 23:14Adam Friedland?

  He's 98 years old. He lives in modern talk.

• 23:18Speaker 02

  No, I mean, a format like the Dick Cavett Show. I was saying to my friend on the way here, like, I've said so many times, "Why don't we have a Dick Cavett Show anymore? Why isn't there a central square of our culture that can talk about ideas? That can get into like, what we really believe? Why is it always like, "Oh, I'm here, I'm just gonna keep it light and talk about my project, and, "Oh, they were great to work with, they were great to work with." Meanwhile, there's wars going on and all this shit, like... That was what I loved about Dick Cavett. You could have Tennessee Williams on there, you could have Marlon Brando on there, and they would tell you what they really thought. They weren't afraid to express themselves as citizens of the country, like...

• 23:57Adam Friedland?

  When's the last time you talked to Paul McCartney? No, I'm just kidding.

• 24:00Speaker 02

  I did meet him once, yeah.

• 24:02Adam Friedland?

  He's the best. Who's your favorite? Wait, this is a stupid question, but like, top five? Who are your top five songwriters?

• 24:09Speaker 02

  My top five Beatles?

• 24:10Adam Friedland?

  No, songwriters. Top five Beatles? Brian Epstein?

• 24:13Speaker 02

  There's only five.

• 24:14Adam Friedland?

  Yeah. Brian Epstein was...

• 24:15Speaker 02

  If you count Billy Preston, though.

• 24:19Adam Friedland?

  He's such a pure soul. And he was part of so much other stuff that we love, yeah.

• 24:23Speaker 02

  And some, yeah, anyways.

• 24:25Adam Friedland?

  He was a child prodigy, too, I believe. I think, yeah. I mean, like, I was talking the other day, and it's like, it's kind of like a dorm room conversation, but I'm like, for me, it's like, Paul, Bob Dylan, and then, and then, I don't know. Then I can, I can argue for a number of people after that.

• 24:45Speaker 02

  John Lennon doesn't even get in after Bob Dylan? Like... I think he's a pretty important, important part of that band.

• 24:53Adam Friedland?

  I'm not saying, I'm not diminishing him, and I'm not saying Bob Dylan's in the Beatles.

• 24:56Speaker 02

  But that's the problem with these numbered lists.

• 24:58Adam Friedland?

  It's a stupid thing.

• 24:59Speaker 02

  People get diminished by being on them.

• 25:01Adam Friedland?

  It's very ESPN, but in my heart, and like, in my formative, like, experiences in music, those, I mean, Bob Dylan's probably like, made the biggest impression on me. Have you met him?

• 25:12Speaker 02

  No, but I was on his radio show a couple times, which is a funny experience, because you actually...

• 25:18Adam Friedland?

  Oh, no.

• 25:19Speaker 02

  Because you don't meet him when you're on the radio. He doesn't do the radio show anymore.

• 25:22Adam Friedland?

  Was he nice?

• 25:24Speaker 02

  You don't meet him.

• 25:25Adam Friedland?

  You don't speak to him.

• 25:26Speaker 02

  You sit with someone else, this guy Eddie, who puts the show together for him. And he's like, "Okay, like, we just talk about whatever." And like, you know, like, "What, what, what, like, just tell me something interesting happened." You're like, "When were you the most lonely?"

• 25:38Adam Friedland?

  He's so weird.

• 25:39Speaker 02

  And you're like, "Well, the most lonely was when my parents left me," and da-da-da-da-da. But he's like, "But phrase it like you're talking to Bob." And I'm like, "Well, Bob, I was the most lonely when I was, uh, when my family left me at a truck stop."

• 25:49Adam Friedland?

  That's so stressful.

• 25:50Speaker 02

  I know, but no, it's not. But listen, then. So then, you hear, you listen to the radio show, and it's like, "I met John C. Reilly in Bonza Noble. He had this to say about loneliness." And then they play this clip of me talking to Eddie, and it sounds like I'm talking to Bob. It doesn't matter, you know, like, so Bob does all the kind of transitional stuff.

• 26:06Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 26:07Speaker 02

  Introduces the song. He has a big part of choosing the music, obviously, that he plays.

• 26:11Adam Friedland?

  Uh-huh.

• 26:11Speaker 02

  But the guests and stuff, I don't think anyone ever talks to him.

• 26:15Adam Friedland?

  But then you're, like, I would just be mad.

• 26:16Speaker 02

  And I'll tell you why I didn't want to meet him. Because he, I hold him in such a high place as an artist, that I was like, "I actually don't want to meet the human being. I don't want to meet the human being."

• 26:27Adam Friedland?

  He would hate me.

• 26:28Speaker 02

  I, I want him to live in the place where he already lives for me. It's already perfect. I don't need to know that he doesn't like asparagus or something. I, I don't need to know.

• 26:38Adam Friedland?

  Did you see The Rolling Thunder?

• 26:39Speaker 02

  He gave me visions of Johanna, you know. I, I don't need to know, like, what his favorite beer is or something, you know.

• 26:45Adam Friedland?

  Did you see The Rolling Thunder, uh, last thing? I loved it. I loved that it was ha- half, it was kind of a Norm MacDonald's memoir that he published, was also the same thing. It was half true, half fake.

• 26:56Speaker 02

  Oh, nice.

• 26:57Adam Friedland?

  It's like, it's a really, like, awesome way to tell a story. But one thing you see is that, like, there's this notion of genius, and then you kind of look, "Well, back in the day, there were all these geniuses." But then you see how people interact with him. And it, it has to be very lonely, because everyone's trying to say the most incredible thing they've ever said. When they, during their.

• 27:17Speaker 02

  Or some meaningful gratitude that, that will land with you. Bob, no, you don't understand how much. And I was like.

• 27:23Adam Friedland?

  Everyone's trying to blow his fucking mind.

• 27:25Speaker 02

  I was invited to Thanksgiving dinner with them one time, with his family. I know.

• 27:29Adam Friedland?

  Why didn't you go?

• 27:30Speaker 02

  His son's, because I was like, I don't wanna know.

• 27:32Adam Friedland?

  Why?

• 27:33Speaker 02

  I don't wanna see like the weird interactions at Thanksgiving. I have my own weird interactions.

• 27:37Adam Friedland?

  No, we would be best friends with him, dude. No, I'm just, I get it. I get what you're saying.

• 27:42Speaker 02

  Still chances to meet him. He's not gone, you know, like, but for you. I've met some of my heroes and a couple of them were exactly like I wanted them to be. And a couple of them, I was like, ah shit, this was a better hero to me before I met them, you know? And I just didn't wanna take that risk.

• 27:59Adam Friedland?

  What was the, what were the nice ones? What was the worst one?

• 28:02Speaker 02

  Jack Nicholson.

• 28:03Adam Friedland?

  Oh my god.

• 28:03Speaker 02

  Exactly like you want him to be. It's as if you have a dream of Jack Nicholson and it's exactly that.

• 28:09Adam Friedland?

  It's the coolest guy of all time.

• 28:10Speaker 02

  Tells you stories about Dennis Hopper, tells you stories about Stanley Kubrick. He just totally free, like a man's man, like just shooting the shit, like exactly like you want Jack to be.

• 28:19Adam Friedland?

  What was the worst one?

• 28:22Speaker 02

  I don't like to talk shit about people.

• 28:24Adam Friedland?

  Well, just, just.

• 28:25Speaker 02

  It was bad enough. I don't need to publicize it.

• 28:29Adam Friedland?

  You see.

• 28:30Speaker 02

  Can you tell who it was?

• 28:31Adam Friedland?

  I'm trying to do like a, what were you saying, the metaphysical?

• 28:34Speaker 02

  No, there's just, you just see like they have, you know, they have flaws.

• 28:38Adam Friedland?

  Is it a music person?

• 28:39Speaker 02

  When you don't meet someone, you can just see them without their flaws, you know? You just see like, all I see is tangled up in blue when I look at Bob Dylan, you know? Like, I don't see like, oh, he was mean that one. He talked to his assistant in a weird way or, you know, I don't. It's just garbage that's meaningless anyway.

• 28:55Adam Friedland?

  Have you been going to the, to his shows recently, in the last couple of years?

• 28:58Speaker 02

  No.

• 28:58Adam Friedland?

  He's locked in.

• 29:00Speaker 02

  He's locked in?

• 29:01Adam Friedland?

  It's amazing. Cause you.

• 29:02Speaker 02

  Did you like that last record that he put out?

• 29:05Adam Friedland?

  I loved it.

• 29:05Speaker 02

  I contain multitudes.

• 29:06Adam Friedland?

  I loved it.

• 29:07Speaker 02

  I absolutely loved it too.

• 29:10Adam Friedland?

  I loved Key West, oh my god. He's just, there's something about, he just wants to be on the road the rest of his life. And this goes back to what I'm saying, is like, everyone's trying to be the most profi- You see Allen Ginsberg stressed out around him, right? You see like, you see a fucking Patti Smith, like, and she's just like, "Fuck, I'm a loser." Like, just walking away, and it's just like, you realize that genius is just as rare as it always has been, right? And that has to be really-

• 29:36Speaker 02

  I don't think he thinks of himself as a genius, you know?

• 29:39Adam Friedland?

  No, he thinks of himself probably as like, "Everyone's fucking being lame my whole life." Because, and I'm, and it's probably a very lonely thing.

• 29:46Speaker 02

  Yeah, it's lonely at the top, I've heard that before. I think he, I think, I mean, what I've read about when he talks, what he talks about himself, or how he sees himself, like, especially that era when everyone thought he was the political leader of a new movement, that he was gonna, him and Joan Baez were gonna change the world forever.

• 30:04Adam Friedland?

  She was mad at him.

• 30:05Speaker 02

  Maybe he was gonna be president or something. He was like, "No, man, I write songs."

• 30:09Adam Friedland?

  He just wants to write songs.

• 30:10Speaker 02

  "I'm a contemporary songwriter." And you can see it, though, even this, you know, him and the Rolling Stones are like that a little bit too, they're like, "No, I'm not some, I'm not, like, I don't have some particular thing that I do over and over. I'm trying to move with the culture, I'm trying to find out what do people wanna hear from music right now." And Dylan's like that, you know, he's like, and he described himself as a Tin Pan Alley songwriter.

• 30:34Adam Friedland?

  It sounds so good.

• 30:35Speaker 02

  In the old-fashioned way of the Brill Building, like, you go in, you knock around some ideas, "How's that sound?" Put some words, "Maybe that, I'm gonna change that word." He didn't see himself as like, "God has told me how to lead the people," you know, like-

• 30:49Adam Friedland?

  Well, no one, the only way you could say productive-

• 30:51Speaker 02

  And people die who are treated like that, and that's probably, in his era, was probably like, "No, man, they did this to Martin Luther King, they did this to Bobby Kennedy, you're not doing it to me."

• 31:01Adam Friedland?

  Oh, you think the CIA was gonna kill him?

• 31:03Speaker 02

  No, that...

• 31:05Adam Friedland?

  You think, uh...

• 31:06Speaker 02

  You're not gonna hold me up as some kinda thought leader that some people are gonna be pissed off enough with to kill, you know?

• 31:12Adam Friedland?

  It's just like, if you wanna make songs for sixty years, you don't think about what impact this has on the zeitgeist. You just, you go to the fucking studio, you make more songs, you know? You can't like get lost in your own legend. You're like, "I wanna make more songs, maybe this album's gonna sound like this, maybe I'm gonna get Sly and Robbie, 'cause I'm done with my Christian stuff, maybe I'm gonna start working with Daniel L. Waugh now, maybe I'm gonna do New Orleans stuff."

• 31:36Speaker 02

  Like, if you go, there's a great exhibit of him at the, um...

• 31:40Adam Friedland?

  Jewish Museum.

• 31:40Speaker 02

  Skirball Center in California. And there's this footage of him when he was like, I think he was speaking on behalf of Meg or Evers or something like that.

• 31:50Adam Friedland?

  That song is so good.

• 31:50Speaker 02

  He must be like nineteen years old, maybe twenty years old. He's in a field playing a guitar, surrounded by black people and overalls and shit.

• 31:59Adam Friedland?

  I love that video. I love that clip.

• 32:00Speaker 02

  And he's just a song of righteousness. And so, even though what I just said about his point of view about not being a genius and not being a leader and not being... Part of me feels like, "But Bob, you are. Bob, you can deny it, but I see it." You know, you look at that film and you watch him standing there in front of those people, coming up with the times they are changing, coming up with the words to express the injustice of the time, you're like, "No, you weren't just a Tin Pan Alley songwriter."

• 32:30Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 32:30Speaker 02

  You were someone that was tapped into something, you know, like...

• 32:33Adam Friedland?

  He just wanna play electric guitar, man. I mean, in retrospect, like, watching the clips of like the people that like, you know...

• 32:40Speaker 02

  Don't look back, yeah, you're like, "What were you people looking at?"

• 32:43Adam Friedland?

  They're like, "You guys are fucking pussies." Like, "I came here for a fucking folk concert." Yeah, it's like, "What's right?" He's playing also like the best music. Poor Collins 76, best Bob. Bass Bob, Bass Bob.

• 32:58Speaker 02

  I've only listened to the bootlegs that he released out of respect to him.

• 33:02Adam Friedland?

  The video.

• 33:03Speaker 02

  Basement tapes.

• 33:04Adam Friedland?

  Him doing Idiot Wind and his life was falling apart and he was drinking so much and he was playing terrible shows up until that point and something clicked. And Sarah Dillon and his mother were in the front row and he's singing Idiot Wind and he's so angry. He's singing it so pissed. And it's like, like your wife is like, like it's a wonder you know how to breathe like.

• 33:31Speaker 02

  You think he's talking about her?

• 33:33Adam Friedland?

  I think it's about that, yeah. He's pissed at his wife, no? What do you think that song's about?

• 33:37Speaker 02

  I don't know. Maybe, maybe, I don't know. He never told me what it was about.

• 33:41Adam Friedland?

  You never, well, you never got to ask him.

• 33:43Speaker 02

  I thought, when I listen to that song, I think it's about some idiot.

• 33:48Adam Friedland?

  Oh, maybe I'm just, I got in a fight with my girlfriend and I connected on a different level once, but no.

• 33:54Speaker 02

  Blowing every time you move your mouth, yeah.

• 33:56Adam Friedland?

  It's a very sexist song, but it's just like.

• 33:59Speaker 02

  Is it?

• 33:59Adam Friedland?

  It's a, well, go, no.

• 34:01Speaker 02

  You didn't say it's a woman.

• 34:02Adam Friedland?

  You know why? Because that album's a breakup album. That's why. So that's why I always thought that.

• 34:09Speaker 02

  I try to take the songs that Bo offers, like he wants them offered, like this is just a song I wrote. Don't make it about my life. It's about some idiot. And then it's, then it's my song too. Then when I listen to Idiot Wind, I'm not like, man, he should have been more fair to his wife. I'm listening to Idiot Wind going, yeah, that person was a fucking idiot. I wish I thought of this song to say to them when they, when they treated me that way.

• 34:33Adam Friedland?

  Sarah Dillon, I know. She was being an idiot. No, but I, no, in the context of that, it's not about like celebrity, whatever, that I want to know about his relationships or something. It's that why is his performance like so passionate? Because his life is falling apart and something clicks in that concert and it's also filmed. You know, so that entire concert is like, you know, was a television broadcast, I think on ABC or something and.

• 34:59Speaker 02

  I haven't seen what you're talking about.

• 35:01Adam Friedland?

  The one where he's, has the thing tied around his head, like, because it's raining. He has like a t-shirt tied around his head. He looks like, he's like in the Middle East or something and he's, he does that, whatever. Okay, you haven't seen it.

• 35:15Speaker 02

  I think it can be interesting to. Delve into what an artist was going through when they made a certain piece of art. Like when, like for instance, when Buster Keaton, the famous shot of Buster Keaton, the house falling on him. And it just misses his head. What's fascinating about that, I mean, it's funny as a, as a bit of comedy film, but what's fascinating about it is like, he was on the verge of suicide. His life was ruined. He was bankrupt. So he didn't care if the house hit him. Damn. So that makes that much more poignant, but like.

• 35:51Adam Friedland?

  Have you ever been in a, like a, where your personal life has like affected a performance like that?

• 35:59Speaker 02

  Yeah, of course. I don't think you can be a really true artist if your own personal experiences are not informing everything that you do. That doesn't mean you advertise it or you tell people that what you're going through, but for sure, yeah. And you're, as an actor, you're channeling stuff that you went through, you know?

• 36:17Adam Friedland?

  Well, past experiences, right? Yeah, of course. No, but it's just, it's interesting to say.

• 36:21Speaker 02

  My father died when I was making The River Wild, which is this, you know, you could say, whatever. Silly kind of Hollywood movie about a family gets taken, kidnapped on a river rafting trip. But my father died while I was making it. And at the end of that movie, when I'm broken and my arm is broken, it's the final kind of, you know, end of the movie. And I'm weeping on a rock. I was weeping because my father died. He had just died right before that. So, but you didn't know that. So even when you watch the movie, you're like, oh yeah, that guy's fucked up because they got caught and they, whatever, you know?

• 36:55Adam Friedland?

  Have you heard that Yoko Ono album, Season of Glass?

• 36:58Speaker 02

  No.

• 36:59Adam Friedland?

  So it's.

• 36:59Speaker 02

  Have you seen the new Yoko and John doc?

• 37:02Adam Friedland?

  No, where, what's it on? Should we watch it after?

• 37:04Speaker 02

  Yoko and I or something.

• 37:05Adam Friedland?

  Our sleepover? Should I get weed and we can watch it?

• 37:09Speaker 02

  It's really good.

• 37:10Adam Friedland?

  It's really good.

• 37:11Speaker 02

  I mean, I could.

• 37:11Adam Friedland?

  That relation, I could go on about.

• 37:13Speaker 02

  You were gonna ask me something, but I can tell you about that.

• 37:15Adam Friedland?

  She made album three months, that came out three months after this, the, the, why am I? The assassination. I was about to say suicide three times. My brain is, I'm. Mentally, I, I, not the art.

• 37:28Speaker 02

  You're alright, man.

• 37:29Adam Friedland?

  I'm the art, I'm just nervous right now.

• 37:31Speaker 02

  Are you nervous?

• 37:32Adam Friedland?

  She made an album, and the artwork is amazing, cuz it's, they gave her his glasses, and it had his blood splatter, and, and it's right next to a glass of water, and it's taken from the Dakota, and Central Park is behind it. And she took a picture of his glasses in front of the window, and...

• 37:52Speaker 02

  That's gonna make me cry.

• 37:53Adam Friedland?

  But...

• 37:54Speaker 02

  That's just too sad.

• 37:55Adam Friedland?

  The album is just the purest expression of anguish and love. And like, in the context of that, and in the context of like, we know this guy John, and we love him, and this woman is like in pain. I mean, it does contextualize this like amazing album that I can't just view as like, that song's good, right?

• 38:15Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 38:15Adam Friedland?

  And like, so sometimes I agree with you, like, sometimes it's art from the artist, but other times it's like, yeah, that makes me appreciate it.

• 38:23Speaker 02

  It makes it deeper if you know.

• 38:24Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, deeper, yeah, yeah. Well, also cuz I'm obsessed with Dylan, like, I just like tend to know where he was in his life at that point, and...

• 38:31Speaker 02

  We were born on the same day, May 24th, dude.

• 38:36Adam Friedland?

  May 24th, Hibbing, Minnesota.

• 38:38Speaker 02

  You know what one of the most beautiful things about that Let It Be documentary that Peter Jackson did?

• 38:42Adam Friedland?

  I watched it three times.

• 38:44Speaker 02

  It, it, it was like a gentle rain washing away the misogyny that people treated Yoko with.

• 38:52Adam Friedland?

  She was vindicated.

• 38:53Speaker 02

  It was like a gentle rain that showed you like, no, these guys loved each other. They loved each other. This whole thing, all this whole bullshit story we've been told that John and Paul hated, but it's all bullshit.

• 39:06Adam Friedland?

  Well, they loved each other.

• 39:07Speaker 02

  How could they have done all of that with, with that bullshit storyline? Like, so that was a real gift that I thought Peter Jackson gave to the world, that he showed like, no, there's, there's a, there was a much more interesting story here than that original movie.

• 39:20Adam Friedland?

  There's a moment where Paul says, John loves her, and if he wants her here, I want her here.

• 39:24Speaker 02

  Exactly.

• 39:24Adam Friedland?

  How nice was that?

• 39:25Speaker 02

  Yeah, how about George helping Ringo with like, oh no, actually, you should do the change here on Octopus Garden, you know, it's like...

• 39:31Adam Friedland?

  So stupid, what a baby song.

• 39:33Speaker 02

  And it actually, and it gave me a lot more respect for Paul, to tell you the truth.

• 39:37Adam Friedland?

  You're a John guy.

• 39:38Speaker 02

  Well, I just kinda bought into this thing of like, oh, Paul was the pop one. He was just always trying to keep things light or whatever, like, actually.

• 39:44Adam Friedland?

  He's a workhorse.

• 39:45Speaker 02

  If you watched it, he was the one who's like, ideas, ideas, ideas, ideas, you know?

• 39:50Adam Friedland?

  First guy in, last guy out.

• 39:52Speaker 02

  There's a really heartbreaking thing that happens in that movie, which I'm sure you've noticed. But, beginning, I think John and Yoko were doing smack at the time, or doing heroin, and they were a little checked out. And John said he would do it, so he shows up with Yoko, they're there. But he's kinda like, not really participating for a while. And then George and Paul start to like, come up with something maybe a little bit interesting. Suddenly, John perks up. There's a good idea on the floor, and he moves in with Paul. Suddenly, John and Paul are back together, and George is left, like, yesterday's news.

• 40:25Adam Friedland?

  He's so mean to him.

• 40:25Speaker 02

  And that's when he quits the band.

• 40:27Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, that's when he leaves.

• 40:28Speaker 02

  He's like, I can't take this hurt again. And it was so, you know, watching it from the outside, you're like, oh, wow, like, it's so obvious what happened there. Anyway.

• 40:36Adam Friedland?

  They were also like 27.

• 40:38Speaker 02

  And also the, the, yeah, super young, and the, and the, and a costume designer, friend of mine, pointed out something really interesting about that movie, which is that, first, I forgot who the first one is who comes out all blinged out. I think it might have been Ringo. One of them shows up like, with clothes, you know, like. And then, the next day, another one shows up. You got a fur vest on now, like, and by the end of it, they're all stunting with their clothes.

• 41:03Adam Friedland?

  They're all like pips.

• 41:04Speaker 02

  Yeah, they're all peacocking for each other, kinda like.

• 41:06Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, well, the, my understanding, my reading, and it's like, the cool thing about that Peter Jackson thing was like, I went, I was gonna live the rest of my life and never expect to see that, right? I had no expectation, and then it happens, and I'm like, I'm so lucky. I, this is something you imagi, I have imagined? It's like, the, that was, that happened before I was born. It's like seeing pictures of your parents before you're born. You create a narrative and a story in your mind, but it doesn't, it's, you have to, it's not real, right? You're not there. And so like, that, like, those sessions, like, I knew that they were recording it all live. I knew Billy Preston came in, but like, I didn't know anything the fuck else.

• 41:47Speaker 02

  You know what I didn't, you know what I didn't, I didn't know that those recordings on the roof are on the album. I didn't know that.

• 41:53Adam Friedland?

  Is that right?

• 41:54Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 41:55Adam Friedland?

  Fuck!

• 41:56Speaker 02

  Dude, some of the greatest songs on that album are from the fucking show on the roof.

• 42:01Adam Friedland?

  Have you heard the-

• 42:01Speaker 02

  It was looped, it was wired to the studio.

• 42:04Adam Friedland?

  Oh, that's right. Yeah, I remember that. Have you heard the-

• 42:06Speaker 02

  I didn't know that. I thought, I thought the concert on the roof was like a little thing they did for fun at the end. They were recording it. It's on the album, like-

• 42:13Adam Friedland?

  They were locked in on that. Have you heard the isolated tracks of like Paul's bass on like "Don't Let Me Down" and stuff? It's like he's playing like Ja- like, it's like Jaco Pistorius. You, you, you don't realize like, this guy like, until you watch that, that like, this guy, in the same way as Bob, just cares about making songs. And like, his friend is in pain. I, I just read a book about them. Oh my god, I could talk about this forever. Um, there was, when he wrote yesterday, the, the band was John kind of as a featured, you know, John Beatle. And then, and they were best friends from since childhood. They probably fucked one ti- a cou- a couple times. John also let, uh-

• 42:56Speaker 02

  Hot take.

• 42:57Adam Friedland?

  Jo- it's implied that when they went to Paris. They were in love with each other. And, uh, but they were also, like, they, there was a-

• 43:04Speaker 02

  Nothing wrong with it, by the way. I just had never heard anything like that.

• 43:07Adam Friedland?

  John also let, uh, Epstein hit once too, because Epstein was in love with him. That's why he signed them. He was in love with John. I don't wanna-

• 43:14Speaker 02

  I heard about David Bowie and Mick Jagger.

• 43:17Adam Friedland?

  David Bowie's like, apparently he only tried once and he's like, "It's not for me."

• 43:20Speaker 02

  Really?

• 43:21Adam Friedland?

  That's what I heard. And I'm like-

• 43:22Speaker 02

  You have all the like, gay, dirty laundry.

• 43:23Adam Friedland?

  I know every guy who's had sex with every guy, yeah. But no, I don't know any-

• 43:28Speaker 02

  Isn't it all just the same? Anyway, that's what we-

• 43:30Adam Friedland?

  No, no, but that's interesting-

• 43:31Speaker 02

  That's what I talk about on this album.

• 43:32Adam Friedland?

  Gay sex. Yeah.

• 43:33Speaker 02

  Well, the fact that love is love, it really is. This character's trying to fall in love with someone during every show. And I start out talking with women at the beginning. I go into the audience. And the idea is that Mr. Romantic is this mythical character. He lives in a steamer trunk. That's been traveling the world for thousands of years. These four musicians are carrying around the steamer trunk. They know, they remember, but they're caught in a kind of purgatory. He comes out of the tr- uh, out of the steamer trunk and he has no memory of the past. All he knows is that he has to stay inside this steamer trunk. And when he comes out of the steamer trunk, he has to put on a show. And he doesn't have to go back into the steamer trunk if he can find one person in the audience-

• 44:15Adam Friedland?

  To fuck?

• 44:15Speaker 02

  Who will love him-

• 44:16Adam Friedland?

  Oh, okay, then right.

• 44:17Speaker 02

  Forever.

• 44:18Adam Friedland?

  Wow.

• 44:18Speaker 02

  Right. So then I, in the beginning of the show, I start talking with women, right? And then at a certain point in the show, I walk out and I start talking to men. And the guys are like, "Wait, what?" And I say, "Look, I'm not gay or straight. I'm desperate."

• 44:33Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 44:33Speaker 02

  I told you I have to find someone.

• 44:34Adam Friedland?

  Don't go back in that box.

• 44:35Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 44:36Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 44:36Speaker 02

  So then, what happens in the room is like, all the women, first of all, go, "Oh, thank God. It's not gonna be just him leching on all of us the whole show."

• 44:44Adam Friedland?

  Uh huh.

• 44:45Speaker 02

  And all the men go, "Oh shit, it's on me too to think about love."

• 44:49Adam Friedland?

  Well, you're famous, dude. Why Mr. Romantic.

• 44:53Speaker 02

  So what it does is it brings everyone into this present moment. And like, when you're talking about this gay stuff, like, why is it like this scandalous thing that John and him?

• 45:02Adam Friedland?

  I didn't say it scandalously. I meant it as like...

• 45:34Adam Friedland?

  Literally, like, literally, that was mentioned in the book, that there was a, like, a connection there.

• 45:41Speaker 03

  Okay, real quick, they need to wrap, so can we talk a little more?

• 45:45Adam Friedland?

  Hey folks, Adam here. I wanna talk to you about Zocdoc. Finding an actual doctor that you actually like. Sometimes... Hey babe.

• 45:53Adam Friedland?

  Hey folks, today I wanna talk to you about Zocdoc. Finding a doctor that you actually like sometimes feels like finding a diamond in the rough. We all know the feeling. Sometimes you wanna find someone in the network. Sometimes you wanna find someone that's nearby, someone with overtime slots. And let's be honest, that's just the start. You deserve someone that really listens, makes you feel comfortable, makes you calm your nerves, explains things clearly, tells you that things are just gonna be okay. Remembers your kids' names. I don't know about that. Do you want them to?

• 46:23Speaker 04

  If they're pediatrician, you want them to remember it.

• 46:25Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, if they're pediatrician, you want them to remember your kids' names. But sometimes, they want one that roots for your favorite sports team and makes you laugh.

• 46:36Adam Friedland?

  Makes you laugh, that's that. And still gives you a lollipop, even though you're a full grown adult. Your diamond in the rough doctor exists and finding them is easy on Zocdoc, okay? Raise your hand if you've been putting off dental cleaning and you will check up on honestly any doctor's appointment. Yeah, that's my hands, both my hands are up there too. My teeth are disgusting, my breath is disgusting, I'm overall disgusting and 2026 is a year of Adam's health. You will be seeing me getting stronger, getting fitter and overall getting my, I'm gonna get my deviated septum fixed perhaps. And maybe my nose will be maybe a little bit slightly smaller.

• 47:18Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, but when something feels off, what do I do? I usually doom scroll my symptoms, self diagnose using the, the internet. I spiral quietly to myself, I vent to my partner and I don't do anything about it. The worst is resorting to TikTok. So one of their wellness trends, I load up on vitamins, I hope for the best, downplay it and say, it's probably fine. Does that sound familiar? This year, we're doing things differently. We're going on zocdoc.com, we're finding doctors we love and we're booking appointments on Zocdoc. I want to talk to you today about Zocdoc. Zocdoc is an app and also a website where you could book high quality in-network doctors.

• 47:57Adam Friedland?

  So you can find someone that you love. We're talking about in-network appointments with more than 150,000 providers across 50 states. Whether you're looking for dermatology, dentistry, primary care, eye care, one of 200 other specialties, they're all offered on Zocdoc. You can search by specialty or symptom to build the care team that's right for you. You want to see your doctor in person? Great. Prefer a video visit? You can do that too. You can view thousands of verified patient reviews to give you a sense of who your doctor is. Maybe they hate small talk just as much as you. Or they root for your favorite sports team. Uh, whatever it is, you feel confident that you book with that doctor that you know that you love.

• 48:36Adam Friedland?

  Uh, when you're ready, you can see their real time availability, click to book instantly, no phone tag, no waiting around. appointments may through Zocdoc happen fast, typically within 24 to 72 hours of booking. You could even score a same day appointment, which I've done before. I use this and you should too. So stop putting off those doctor's appointments. Go to zocdoc.com.

• 49:02Adam Friedland?

  Slash T A F S to find an instantly book that a doctor you love today. That's Z O C D O C dot com slash T A F S. Zocdoc dot com slash T A F S. Thanks to Zocdoc for sponsoring this message.

• 49:21Adam Friedland?

  That's it, okay.

• 49:26Adam Friedland?

  Okay, ready?

• 49:28Speaker 05

  Ready.

• 49:29Adam Friedland?

  Okay. Um, managing your money doesn't have to be a struggle this year. Monarch is an all-in-one personal finance tool designed to make your life easier. It brings your entire financial life, budgeting, accounts, investments, net worth, and future planning together in one dashboard on your laptop or your phone. Start your new year with the right foot, um, start your new year on the right foot and financially and get fifty percent off your Monarch subscription with code T A F S. That's right, folks. Talk about, Monarch makes it easy to start fresh after the chaos of the holidays. I spent a lot of money, a lot of beautiful lavish gifts for people, and I got zero gifts in return this year. But Monarch is a go-to tool, but it's better to receive than to, it is.

• 50:14Speaker 05

  You got gifts.

• 50:14Adam Friedland?

  No, I got nothing.

• 50:16Speaker 05

  You got.

• 50:16Adam Friedland?

  Well, I didn't like what I got. Uh, Monarch is a go-to tool for New Year's Eve, financial reset, reviewing spending time over the holidays, setting fresh budgets, and getting ready for twenty twenty-six. With automated weekly money recaps and tracking progress towards future financial goals, it's easier than ever to stay financially fit in the short and long term with Monarch Money. That's right, guys. Unlike most other personal finance app, Monarch is built for you. Proactive, not just reactive. Monarch's new AI tools are built on Monarch Intelligence. Oof, that sounds good. For instance, Monarch's new AI tools are built on Monarch Intelligence, the core infrastructure that powers their app. Monarch Intelligence is a system trained on authentic collective wisdom of certified

• 51:01Adam Friedland?

  financial planners and financial advisors. They have an AI system, AI incidents, AI weekly recap. Guys, I don't have to tell you twice, Monarch has helped users save over two hundred dollars per month on average after joining. Eight out of ten members feel more in control of their finances with Monarch, and eight out of ten members say Monarch gives them a clear picture of where their money is going. So this is the new year, folks. I'm in a hotel.

• 51:31Adam Friedland?

  I don't know. This New Year, achieve your financial goals for good. Monarch is the all-in-one tool that makes proactive money management simple all year long. Use code TAFS at monarch.com for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first year at monarch.com.

• 51:52Adam Friedland?

  Use code TAFS at monarch.com for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first year at monarch.com with the code TAFS.

• 52:03Adam Friedland?

  This podcast is off. This episode is off. This episode is, can you tell us back a little bit, just like that? This episode is sponsored by Squarespace. Thank you, Squarespace. Squarespace is the all-in-one website platform designed to help you stand out and succeed online, whether you're just starting out or scaling your business. Squarespace gives you everything you need to claim your domain, showcase your offerings with a professional website to grow your brand, get paid, all in one place. I've used Squarespace before. When I was first starting out comedy, I made a website on Squarespace where I posted all my tour dates, where people could go and see me perform

• 52:46Adam Friedland?

  all around the DC metropolitan area where I started comedy. You know that? Squarespace gives you everything you need to offer services to get paid all in one place, from consultations to events and experiences. Showcase your offerings with a customizable website to attract clients and grow your business. Get paid on time with professional on-brand invoices and online payments. You can use it to get paid on time with professional on-brand invoices and online payments. Plus, you can streamline your workflow with built-in appointment scheduling and email marketing tools. One thing that is very useful is their integrated Squarespace SEO tools, which help you get discovered fast.

• 53:32Adam Friedland?

  Squarespace makes it easy to showcase your expertise and engage clients with video content on your website. Upload your and organize your videos, create stunning video libraries, and even monetize your content by adding a paywall. Perfect for online courses, exclusive tutorials. And premium workshops. So guys, head to, go to, check out Squarespace.com/tafs for a free trial. And when you're ready to launch, use offer code TAFS to save 10% off your first purchase of a website domain. It's pretty exciting, your first website, folks.

• 54:12Adam Friedland?

  That's Squarespace.com/tafs for a free trial. And when you're ready to launch, use offer code TAFS to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Thanks a lot.

• 54:29Speaker 06

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• 54:43Speaker 06

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• 54:57Speaker 02

  There's some things I wanted to talk about.

• 54:59Adam Friedland?

  Let's, let's, let's, let's get into it.

• 55:01Speaker 02

  And it's not just promoting this product, which is actually not probably gonna make me any money. It's just sort of a gift to the world. But what I wanted to talk about was...

• 55:12Adam Friedland?

  Well, let's act like I, I thought of the question.

• 55:14Speaker 02

  Empathy and misanthropy.

• 55:16Adam Friedland?

  So what do you think about empathy and misogyny? Or misanthropy?

• 55:20Speaker 02

  Fuck.

• 55:22Speaker 02

  Empathy, we're in this weird like moment where empathy has become uncool. Like even Elon Musk said empathy is weakness or something, like the empathy trap or whatever, like... And he's completely wrong. And empathy to me is the foundation of civilization. It's the only way that civilization actually works is if I care about you. And even though I don't know you, I care about you.

• 55:50Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 55:51Speaker 02

  All right, so...

• 55:52Adam Friedland?

  Being nice.

• 55:53Speaker 02

  Well, just trying to understand what it's like for another person and giving them the benefit of the doubt and understanding like they deserve dignity, they deserve kindness, they, they deserve whatever I deserve because they're also a human being like me. Like I, I do think that's, we're at a really a juncture in the world where... Or Junction or wherever the hell is.

• 56:16Adam Friedland?

  Junket.

• 56:17Speaker 02

  We're on a junket.

• 56:18Adam Friedland?

  Junket. I don't know. Do you have kids?

• 56:22Speaker 02

  Misanthropy.

• 56:22Adam Friedland?

  Oh, yeah, sorry.

• 56:25Speaker 02

  There's this really, there's a trend right now among people that tell stories, that make television shows, that do reality TV, that make movies, where it's this, it's this posture people take where the world sucks, okay? This is what's wrong with the world and there it is. Watch this movie and you'll understand why the world sucks and people are ultimately stupid and they're not smart and there's no redeeming characters in this story. There's nothing good. You're gonna walk out of here and realize the world's a piece of shit, right? Except, I already know that. I read the news every day. So, this whole trend, to me, people who are misanthropes are overly sensitive.

• 57:11Speaker 02

  People who have decided if the world's not perfect, it's a piece of shit. And I think the truth about life is actually much more nuanced than that, you know? If you're at a funeral, someone will make a joke and you might smile at a funeral. If you're at a birthday party, you notice like, oh, that kid is having a hard time, you know, like... So, to me, that's the truth about life. So, when I see art, I want it to reflect the truth about life, that it's complicated, that sometimes people are shitty, but sometimes even shitty people do something good. Cause at the bottom of it all, all of us have good and bad in us, right? So, to take this posture of a misanthrope and to be cynical about the way the world is, I think is lazy.

• 57:55Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 57:56Speaker 02

  I think it's immature. I think it's something like a fifteen-year-old who listens to death metal. You know what? Fuck it, man, the whole world sucks. Well, if you grow up a little bit, you'll see...

• 58:06Adam Friedland?

  It's an adolescent thought.

• 58:07Speaker 02

  Yeah, the whole thing doesn't suck. There's joy out there every day. There's something out there every day.

• 58:12Adam Friedland?

  Also, you're human too, right? I think what you're, what I'm picking up on is that just the fucking, the fucking movies are all trying to engage with a discourse these days and like about, you know, the, the public contemporary moment. And sometimes you just wanna see a movie about like, this kid, this kid has a big dick and then he starts doing porn, right? And then he starts doing coke.

• 58:35Speaker 02

  But you know what that movie's about? You know what Boogie Nights is about? Boogie Nights is, Boogie Nights is about... Choosing your family and finding your family.

• 58:43Adam Friedland?

  But we get that.

• 58:44Speaker 02

  It's a family movie.

• 58:45Adam Friedland?

  We get that in the context of like this kid has a big dick and he's a.

• 58:50Speaker 02

  But his mother's a nightmare, so he finds another mother. He finds Julianne Moore instead of his actual mother.

• 58:55Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 58:56Speaker 02

  He chooses his family and at the end, he's happy. He's found a family that loves him.

• 59:00Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 59:01Speaker 02

  I mean, it's not about porn, actually, to me, but.

• 59:04Adam Friedland?

  I think, I think that that I've read Paul saying that about the movie too, you know? And like the, when you go like this, the dream that, yeah.

• 59:13Speaker 02

  I wasn't aware that I did it.

• 59:15Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, when, when apparently he takes out the monster.

• 59:18Speaker 02

  Oh, where you are.

• 59:19Adam Friedland?

  Yeah. So funny. I mean, that movie is so funny. I mean like.

• 59:22Speaker 02

  That is a sexy scene in that movie and you don't see any nudity in it. With her first scene with him, is it okay if I come in you? Yeah, baby, whatever you want. Like, there's something so hot about that. And it's not even the explicit part of the movie.

• 59:35Adam Friedland?

  Don't, you know her probably, so don't tell her, but I was, I was, I was so in love with her. It's crazy. When I watched that.

• 59:43Speaker 02

  If you include that in this segment, she's gonna find out.

• 59:47Adam Friedland?

  Heather Graham, she's gonna watch this?

• 59:49Speaker 02

  Heather Graham? I was talking about Julianne Moore.

• 59:52Adam Friedland?

  Roller girl. Oh, no, no, that scene.

• 59:54Speaker 02

  No, dude, I was talking about Julianne Moore. Julianne Moore's first scene with Dirk.

• 59:58Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, yeah. That's that one.

• 1:00:00Speaker 02

  That was intimacy.

• 1:00:02Adam Friedland?

  When Roller Girl does the, takes the, that's for a 15 year old boy.

• 1:00:06Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:00:06Adam Friedland?

  That was my bar mitzvah.

• 1:00:07Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:00:08Adam Friedland?

  That was, that was a forward of moment in my life.

• 1:00:11Speaker 02

  I had a similar experience when I watched Dangerous Liaisons. And Uma Thurman does that.

• 1:00:18Adam Friedland?

  Dude.

• 1:00:18Speaker 02

  I literally, I was with a wonderful, dear departed, um, dear friend of mine. This gay fellow named Ted went to see that movie with me. And after we came out, I was like, I turned, I was like, oh my God, Ted, how about that girl? And he's like, oh, I know you like that. And I was like, what? And he's like, you really don't know what you said? And I was like, what? He said, when she lifted up her shirt like that, you said, oh my God.

• 1:00:46Adam Friedland?

  You didn't realize.

• 1:00:46Speaker 02

  Out loud and the audience laughed at me and I was completely like.

• 1:00:50Adam Friedland?

  You're in a trance? Um, you have children?

• 1:00:54Speaker 02

  I do. I have two sons.

• 1:00:55Adam Friedland?

  Um, one thing, my, my friends are becoming parents recently.

• 1:00:58Speaker 02

  Like this guy's Jewish.

• 1:01:00Adam Friedland?

  Boo.

• 1:01:00Speaker 02

  This guy's Jewish and this guy's Jewish. These two are Catholic.

• 1:01:03Adam Friedland?

  You can't, oh, cousins. Nice. You're Irish Catholic?

• 1:01:07Speaker 02

  Yeah, I'm Irish Catholic.

• 1:01:08Adam Friedland?

  Yeah. They're the best people on earth, the Irish.

• 1:01:11Speaker 02

  Are they?

• 1:01:12Adam Friedland?

  I think so.

• 1:01:13Speaker 02

  Yeah, they're pretty good.

• 1:01:13Adam Friedland?

  There's a soul.

• 1:01:14Speaker 02

  They got a nice little democracy over there right now, I'll tell you that.

• 1:01:17Adam Friedland?

  Do you feel like, why are they coming over here taking American roles? Why don't those bastards go back over? I'm not going over there playing Sinead. I'm not gonna play Sinead O'Connor, go over there, even though I could very easily.

• 1:01:30Speaker 02

  The crazy thing is that what they're saying about people from Latin America about coming and taking God, this is exactly what they said about Italians and Irish and Polish and everyone else before. Like, it's the same old song, you know?

• 1:01:40Adam Friedland?

  But they're better at acting than us now?

• 1:01:42Speaker 02

  Well, I do have a little bit of a bone to pick about some of that. Like, the Australians, like, try getting, try going to Australia as an actor and making it in movies.

• 1:01:51Adam Friedland?

  Well, it's Australia, it's, it's, it's American.

• 1:01:53Speaker 02

  They'll be like, "What are you doing here?"

• 1:01:55Adam Friedland?

  We're the best.

• 1:01:55Speaker 02

  "You're not Australian, why would you come here to tell Australian stories?" But somehow, we, we're much cooler by it.

• 1:02:03Adam Friedland?

  Some of the, like, worst comedians go over to London, they get big. Because they don't understand what's funny over there. Yeah. In stand-up.

• 1:02:10Speaker 02

  That's not true.

• 1:02:11Adam Friedland?

  No, no, their satire is better than us.

• 1:02:13Speaker 02

  Steve Coogan sells out stadiums, they obviously understand what's funny.

• 1:02:16Adam Friedland?

  Their stand-up isn't good, their satire isn't miles, light-years ahead of us. Like, because it's a-

• 1:02:22Speaker 02

  I haven't seen enough stand-up there, but I might agree with you.

• 1:02:24Adam Friedland?

  All the stand-up is like, "Oi, and if you don't think that a trans person is a human being, maybe stop it?" And then it's huge laugh. And it's like, it's not a joke, but it's a good-

• 1:02:34Speaker 02

  That sounded like New Zealand, that accent, but-

• 1:02:37Adam Friedland?

  "If you don't think, if you don't think a trans woman is a woman, maybe not doubt?" And then that, they laugh. But it's, which I agree with, but it's like, they make points, like, their satire is amazing because they used to run the world, and then they had to go back to their shitty gray place.

• 1:02:57Speaker 02

  That's the key to understanding the English.

• 1:02:58Adam Friedland?

  And-

• 1:02:59Speaker 02

  Is they just can't believe they don't have the world anymore.

• 1:03:03Adam Friedland?

  They're just-

• 1:03:04Speaker 02

  If only they would've listened to us again, we could fix all of this.

• 1:03:07Adam Friedland?

  There's an inherent irony in that, don't you think? Like, they're like, they just had to say goodbye. Like, you know, like, they were like, "Goodbye."

• 1:03:14Speaker 02

  It was a little more violent than that in Ireland, yeah.

• 1:03:17Adam Friedland?

  Well-

• 1:03:17Speaker 02

  And in India.

• 1:03:19Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, I mean, Ireland is the Palestine of, of England, basically.

• 1:03:23Speaker 02

  Well, that's why, I think the Irish are so supportive of the Palestinian people because they understand what it's like to be under the heel of- You know, a superior military force.

• 1:03:33Adam Friedland?

  But you just want them out of Hollywood.

• 1:03:35Speaker 02

  The Irish?

• 1:03:36Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, yeah. They're taking all our jobs.

• 1:03:39Speaker 02

  No, man.

• 1:03:40Adam Friedland?

  Come on, dude.

• 1:03:40Speaker 02

  It's a free country. It's still a free country.

• 1:03:42Adam Friedland?

  Who's this Keoghan thinking he could...

• 1:03:44Speaker 02

  He's great. That kid's great.

• 1:03:46Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, yeah. He looks intense. Uh, so I just wanna talk, like, moving forward, like, you have a music project coming out, transitioning career-wise, like, is this just something additionally you wanna do, or something you wanna focus on moving forward?

• 1:04:00Speaker 02

  Well, music in general for me is like something I've always done, since I was a kid, I've been doing musicals, but it's something, since I became a professional actor, something I've always done to keep me from doing things I shouldn't be doing in movies. Like, 'cause I know, as an actor, and I know actors in general, like to feel like we're working, we're useful, the world wants me to work, and so we end up taking stuff we shouldn't take.

• 1:04:24Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 1:04:25Speaker 02

  So I started doing music so that I would have enough patience to like wait for the next good thing to do. And so I could have something I was inspired by, and then I thought, gave something back to the world. And, and this one in particular, this project in particular, was really, was really about like trying to address what's going on with this lack of empathy and the separation between people, you know? Computers have done a real number on us.

• 1:04:50Adam Friedland?

  Last thing is like, um, in terms of like, uh, the music that you're influenced by and interested in, it seems like it's heavily influenced by Americana and like, uh, and like, American folk music.

• 1:05:03Speaker 02

  Yeah, I mean, like, like Bob Dylan, I contain multitudes, you know? I used to have a blues band, I used to have a folk band that did like, you know, roots music, for lack of a better word, or country music. And now I have this sort of vaudeville act.

• 1:05:16Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 1:05:16Speaker 02

  That does songs from the American Songbook, a few Tom Waits songs.

• 1:05:21Adam Friedland?

  What, what tracks you got on there?

• 1:05:23Speaker 02

  Look at this beautiful insert.

• 1:05:24Adam Friedland?

  Where is that?

• 1:05:26Speaker 02

  This is a...

• 1:05:26Adam Friedland?

  It's on a photograph?

• 1:05:27Speaker 02

  It's all fake. Yes, it's a photograph. It's a real photograph of me, these rocks are real, and then this is a painted, a painting that they put behind.

• 1:05:34Adam Friedland?

  Why'd they pay you six-three, though?

• 1:05:37Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, I mean, I think it's like.

• 1:05:40Speaker 02

  Steven Berkman, you should look up his work, that's who shot this photograph too. And this photograph. This is a photograph that's been painted over.

• 1:05:47Adam Friedland?

  So is it your, like, so you get MCU offers, then you're like, I'm going to the studio?

• 1:05:53Speaker 02

  Yeah, basically.

• 1:05:54Adam Friedland?

  That's kind of chill.

• 1:05:56Speaker 02

  I did do one MCU thing, and I was like, that's enough.

• 1:05:59Adam Friedland?

  Which one did you do?

• 1:06:00Speaker 02

  I was in Guardians of the Galaxy.

• 1:06:02Adam Friedland?

  Oh, that one was fun?

• 1:06:03Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:06:03Adam Friedland?

  Which, who did you play?

• 1:06:04Speaker 02

  I found it really hard, I found it hard, I couldn't like, anyway, I don't want to get into this.

• 1:06:08Adam Friedland?

  Well, it's just like, it's all like, what I understand is like, it's like, blue screen?

• 1:06:13Speaker 02

  There's a lot of that, and there's also, for the first time in my life, I found it hard to memorize lines.

• 1:06:19Adam Friedland?

  Did you have like ping pong balls?

• 1:06:20Speaker 02

  There were no like, there was no emotional content to it. It was all just like, facts and plot points and things about spaceships and, I was like, I just couldn't get it into my head or into my heart or something.

• 1:06:32Adam Friedland?

  You didn't have to wear one of those motion tracking ping pong things? That would have been cool, right?

• 1:06:37Speaker 02

  The guy, yeah, there was a guy who was playing the, the guy who was doing the raccoon was in a green morph suit.

• 1:06:44Adam Friedland?

  Bradley Cooper?

• 1:06:45Speaker 02

  No, the director's brother was actually on the set in a green, and you know what's crazy?

• 1:06:52Adam Friedland?

  Coop is like Bob Dylan, he's making some other schmuck go out there, instead of, instead of the Coop playing the raccoon?

• 1:06:57Speaker 02

  The director's brother played the raccoon, so that people had something to look at. But he was like, much taller than the raccoon, so it was very strange, he had to wear this morph suit, then he would crouch down, like, I don't know, it was, it was very strange.

• 1:07:10Adam Friedland?

  It's insane.

• 1:07:11Speaker 02

  Look at like, making Guardians of the Galaxy, you'll see, it's crazy like, well, how they pulled that off.

• 1:07:18Adam Friedland?

  Do you have any projects coming up that you want to plug, or anything you're excited about?

• 1:07:21Speaker 02

  I've got a few movies coming out, one is called Hazor Tales, or Testa O Croce, an Italian film I made where I played Buffalo Bill Cody.

• 1:07:28Adam Friedland?

  Awesome.

• 1:07:29Speaker 02

  I have another movie coming out called A Prayer for the Dying, where I play this doctor in the 1800s, dealing, in Wisconsin, dealing with this plague. Is there something else? I don't think so.

• 1:07:39Adam Friedland?

  Who made, and who directed those, those pictures?

• 1:07:42Speaker 02

  A girl named Dar Van Dusen, a woman named Dar Van Dusen.

• 1:07:45Adam Friedland?

  The Italian?

• 1:07:46Speaker 02

  Directed A Prayer for the Dying, and these two guys, Matteo and Alessio, directed the Italian one.

• 1:07:58Speaker 02

  Oh, right, yeah, I'm in a new movie too called How to Rob a Bank. With a bunch of the young kids, Zoe Kravitz is in it with me. I play an FBI agent who's trying to catch bank robbers.

• 1:08:08Adam Friedland?

  They respect you on set, the youngins?

• 1:08:11Speaker 02

  Yeah, they do.

• 1:08:12Adam Friedland?

  You're elder statesman.

• 1:08:13Speaker 02

  Although-

• 1:08:14Adam Friedland?

  Not that elder, but you're-

• 1:08:15Speaker 02

  Oh, well, I was way elder compared to them.

• 1:08:17Adam Friedland?

  Yeah. Do you ever intend on, like, directing?

• 1:08:26Speaker 02

  Yeah, I would like to direct, actually. I think I'd be pretty good. Like I told you before-

• 1:08:30Adam Friedland?

  Because you've done it in theater, yeah.

• 1:08:31Speaker 02

  I've done a lot of children's theater, like, I've done a lot of theater directing, but, um... I don't know, acting's kind of a demanding job. Like, you're kind of always on this treadmill, and to direct, you have to, like, get off the treadmill.

• 1:08:42Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 1:08:43Speaker 02

  I'm not gonna even consider acting offers. I'm just gonna dedicate two or three years, or seven years of my life, to getting this story told. And I just can never quite find myself in that spot. Like, no, I must tell this story, like-

• 1:08:57Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 1:08:57Speaker 02

  I'm someone that's used to, like, telling, you know, just being a vessel for other people's stories.

• 1:09:02Adam Friedland?

  Well, that, I was gonna follow up with that, because it's like, I imagine a director has to... Have you ever had a guy just, like, fucking with you just to get the performance he wants? Like, a psychopath, like?

• 1:09:12Speaker 02

  Uh...

• 1:09:13Adam Friedland?

  I imagine, you have to manipulate-

• 1:09:15Speaker 02

  I can usually spot those people before you sign on, and I don't sign on with people. I don't like people that are, like, patronizing like that.

• 1:09:21Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, you're not doing like a hurt-

• 1:09:22Speaker 02

  And I don't like bullies-

• 1:09:23Adam Friedland?

  Werner Herzog with the gun, like, by the, yeah, yeah.

• 1:09:26Speaker 02

  If anyone ever tries to bully me, or bully someone in my presence, they're gonna hear about it, and I'm not gonna be working with that person anymore. There's no time for bullies, like.

• 1:09:34Adam Friedland?

  Um, were you close with Phil Hoffman?

• 1:09:37Speaker 02

  Yeah, very close, yeah.

• 1:09:38Adam Friedland?

  I mean, he was perhaps the best act, I mean, he's the best, right?

• 1:09:43Speaker 02

  A lion, a lion among men, I would say, yeah, really, like, he had gravitas as a young man that I, was a mystery. It was like, how do you have this gravitas? We're both the same age, like, how, I don't know. I had a lot of respect for Phil. We did a show on Broadway, True West, together.

• 1:09:59Adam Friedland?

  I know, I was gonna ask that, yeah. They have to go.

• 1:10:02Speaker 02

  No, I have to go. They have to go to the airport. There's just no negotiating with airplanes.

• 1:10:07Adam Friedland?

  Please, yeah, I appreciate your time. And it's weird to throw the Phil often thing at the end, but I hope you've enjoyed it, yeah.

• 1:10:16Speaker 02

  It's funny that you mention it because I was just, I was doing some earlier interviews and other people mentioned him too, but yeah, you know.

• 1:10:22Adam Friedland?

  I mean.

• 1:10:23Speaker 02

  One of the all-time greats.

• 1:10:24Adam Friedland?

  I associate you with like an ensemble, I think because of all the PTA movies.

• 1:10:28Speaker 02

  Yeah, we were part of that ensemble together, definitely.

• 1:10:30Adam Friedland?

  It was kind of like a crew that was like, oh, these are the best. But yeah.

• 1:10:34Speaker 02

  If you say so. Thank you, Adam.

• 1:11:23Speaker 00

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• 1:11:51Speaker 04

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