"Jon Bernthal"

Retrieve your catcher’s glove— we caught Jon Bernthal. Deal with the judgement and all that shit later, control the burn on a 3-wick candle, hit every wall you can hit, and how to steal a turkey sandwich. Communication… what? It’s an all-new SmartLess.

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

• 0:01Sean Hayes?

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• 0:44Sean Hayes?

  in select regions for 18-plus users. Check responses for accuracy. Supervise closely; interrupt when needed.

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• 1:34Sean Hayes?

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• 2:10Sean Hayes?

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• 2:53Jason Bateman?

  Hey guys, happy Smartless. We're gonna Smartless the hell out of this. We're gonna really podcast it up today. I hope you're ready. Put your helmet on, clean your ears, because it's coming in. Welcome to Smartless.

• 3:25Will Arnett?

  Late afternoon, late afternoon podcast.

• 3:31Sean Hayes?

  Well, let's just start off by saying happy birthday to Will.

• 3:34Jason Bateman?

  Hey, happy birthday, Will. Oh my goodness.

• 3:39Will Arnett?

  It's so crazy, on my birthday today, I was finally able to shit this out. I had this horseshoe up my ass the whole time.

• 3:48Jason Bateman?

  That explains a lot in your life.

• 3:50Will Arnett?

  Explains a lot, doesn't it?

• 3:51Jason Bateman?

  Yeah. Now, what happens now that it's out of your ass? Does that mean it's all downhill?

• 3:55Will Arnett?

  No, I'm gonna put it right back where it came from.

• 3:58Sean Hayes?

  The horse is still up there.

• 4:00Will Arnett?

  Shiny, you little devil.

• 4:02Jason Bateman?

  Did you get anything enjoyable for your birthday? Did your boys take good care of you?

• 4:08Sean Hayes?

  What happened?

• 4:08Will Arnett?

  I got a nice candle from JB and Amanda.

• 4:12Jason Bateman?

  Oh, that's nice.

• 4:13Will Arnett?

  With a beautiful card.

• 4:14Jason Bateman?

  Three dollars.

• 4:15Will Arnett?

  And I could tell by the candle that JB had picked it.

• 4:19Jason Bateman?

  Yeah, exactly. You know me, I like my candles in my soaps. And that candle right there from Jenny Kane is just about the tippest, toppiest. It's a two-wick candle. You know, three-wick, you can't really control the burn. You know, you're gonna have a side that doesn't really keep up with the other side.

• 4:36Will Arnett?

  You're gonna get a weak side. You're gonna get a weak side on a three week burn.

• 4:39Jason Bateman?

  The wax is gonna flood the other one and then you're screwed. You're kinda like, it's a metaphor for us. I'm a two wick burn kinda guy.

• 4:46Will Arnett?

  Yeah.

• 4:47Jason Bateman?

  And um.

• 4:48Will Arnett?

  So I got that. I got a, I got a nice, I got a nice sort of self-care thing from Shawnee. A little, little gifts or tiff.

• 4:56Jason Bateman?

  Are you gonna, don't, now, don't, a lot of people just like.

• 4:59Will Arnett?

  A g's or tiff?

• 5:00Jason Bateman?

  They let the, they let the treatments expire. You know, they forget they've got them.

• 5:03Sean Hayes?

  No, not this one.

• 5:04Jason Bateman?

  You gotta get in there.

• 5:05Sean Hayes?

  By the way, I had to take out a loan for this one.

• 5:07Will Arnett?

  Yeah.

• 5:07Jason Bateman?

  Oh, huh. You once gave me a self-care thing and um, it was quite the panic.

• 5:14Will Arnett?

  This is, this is.

• 5:14Jason Bateman?

  Oh, is it, is it the same?

• 5:16Will Arnett?

  No.

• 5:17Sean Hayes?

  No, this is a new one. I'll get you, I'll get you this one too, Jay.

• 5:20Jason Bateman?

  You're damn right you will.

• 5:20Will Arnett?

  This is tough. We can't even go broadcast on this one. It's so.

• 5:23Jason Bateman?

  Really?

• 5:24Will Arnett?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 5:25Jason Bateman?

  It's. She just comes right over to the house and um.

• 5:28Will Arnett?

  Uh, no, but you will, let me just say you will not complain.

• 5:33Jason Bateman?

  I will not what?

• 5:34Will Arnett?

  Complain. Well, that's not true. We never know about you, but.

• 5:37Jason Bateman?

  Yeah, you know I like to squeak.

• 5:39Will Arnett?

  He's a real squeaky wheel. And then um, and Danny D O D's gave me some nice books.

• 5:45Sean Hayes?

  Oh, that's nice.

• 5:46Will Arnett?

  Yeah.

• 5:46Sean Hayes?

  That you're gonna read in one sitting?

• 5:48Will Arnett?

  That I'm gonna read.

• 5:49Jason Bateman?

  Now, do you, do your, do your boys panic about what to get the guy who's got it all? Or do they know what they're doing?

• 5:55Will Arnett?

  No, I, I tell them not to get me anything. I just, I just wanna hang out. So I got to have them.

• 5:59Jason Bateman?

  I'm the same. Yeah, cuz I don't want people stressing about buying me something. I'm just like, I don't want anything.

• 6:04Sean Hayes?

  I know, but people like to do it. I mean, we had this conversation ad nauseam.

• 6:08Jason Bateman?

  I'm bad with. Right, but as long as you say, no gifts, please, then at least it takes the pressure off.

• 6:13Will Arnett?

  Yeah.

• 6:13Sean Hayes?

  Yeah, but I, I always ignore that. I, I, I don't know. I learned at such an early age, you always show up with, even if you just go over to somebody's house to visit, you always show up with something.

• 6:23Will Arnett?

  Yeah.

• 6:23Sean Hayes?

  Uh oh, you guys still there?

• 6:24Jason Bateman?

  Well, yeah.

• 6:25Will Arnett?

  Yeah, I'm just thinking about it.

• 6:26Jason Bateman?

  The treats you've always brought over, you know?

• 6:28Sean Hayes?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 6:29Jason Bateman?

  You're never without at least a cookie.

• 6:31Sean Hayes?

  Right.

• 6:32Will Arnett?

  Yeah.

• 6:32Sean Hayes?

  Either for myself or for others.

• 6:34Will Arnett?

  Yep.

• 6:34Jason Bateman?

  Uh huh.

• 6:35Will Arnett?

  Yeah.

• 6:35Jason Bateman?

  Hey, I brought you this. Don't touch it.

• 6:37Sean Hayes?

  Yeah.

• 6:37Will Arnett?

  We had a great, uh, we had a great cake last night.

• 6:40Sean Hayes?

  Oh, my God, that cake.

• 6:42Jason Bateman?

  I saw the photo.

• 6:42Sean Hayes?

  I was waiting for the guy to come out to say, do you want another piece?

• 6:46Will Arnett?

  I know, I know.

• 6:47Sean Hayes?

  Like, nobody came out for a second piece?

• 6:49Jason Bateman?

  They only, they, they only, they only cut up half of it?

• 6:52Will Arnett?

  Waiting for the guy, were you waiting for Jen to say, can you have another piece?

• 6:55Sean Hayes?

  Yeah, yeah, or somebody. I was like...

• 6:58Jason Bateman?

  Did they not, now what type of cake was it? It wasn't the Rice Krispie one I love, is it?

• 7:02Will Arnett?

  No, no, it was a classic, it was a classic Duncan Hines

• 7:07Sean Hayes?

  Yellow.

• 7:07Will Arnett?

  Yellow cake with chocolate frosting, but done, done in a way, it was, it was box worthy.

• 7:13Jason Bateman?

  Did you bring your own hot fudge, you fucking shit pig?

• 7:15Will Arnett?

  No.

• 7:17Jason Bateman?

  That's your move.

• 7:18Will Arnett?

  By the way, last year, my birthday, you remember when I brought, I brought some kind of like butterscotch or something for the Sundays? For the Sundays.

• 7:23Sean Hayes?

  To the restaurant.

• 7:24Jason Bateman?

  Where do you think this bit's coming from?

• 7:25Will Arnett?

  To Tower Bar, and so then everybody's giving me shit, and then Kamala's giving me so much shit, and then the ice cream comes out, and everybody's like, hey, can you pass that?

• 7:34Sean Hayes?

  It was caramel, it was caramel sauce.

• 7:36Will Arnett?

  Everybody used it, JB. It was hilarious.

• 7:38Sean Hayes?

  Now, last night, when you had that cake, first of all, what flavor is yellow?

• 7:44Jason Bateman?

  Vanilla.

• 7:45Sean Hayes?

  Is it just vanilla?

• 7:47Jason Bateman?

  Yeah, it's, it's a rich vanilla.

• 7:49Sean Hayes?

  Alright, fine.

• 7:49Jason Bateman?

  Like a French vanilla is usually kind of yellowing.

• 7:51Will Arnett?

  Is it an angel food? Is that what it is?

• 7:53Sean Hayes?

  I don't know what it is.

• 7:54Jason Bateman?

  What did you call me?

• 7:59Sean Hayes?

  But it was fun. You were missed, JB. It was really fun.

• 8:01Will Arnett?

  Yeah, JB, you were missed. You were missed.

• 8:03Jason Bateman?

  I missed being there, damn it.

• 8:03Will Arnett?

  And it was cool. We ended up asking, we, we got the kids involved, uh, Mape and Abel.

• 8:07Sean Hayes?

  That was the best time, that was the best thing of the night.

• 8:10Jason Bateman?

  Doing what?

• 8:11Sean Hayes?

  Will started throwing, Will started throwing tables.

• 8:12Will Arnett?

  We're talking about what's going on in the world. No, what's going on in the world, and I said, you know what? And the kids were at the end, Arch wasn't feeling well, but Abe and Mape were there, and I said, what do you guys think about what we're talking about and all this stuff that's going on, what all the grownups are talking about right now in the world? And are you guys stressed and blah, blah, blah?

• 8:28Sean Hayes?

  And Maple said, I say, open up the straight. Isn't that what Maple said? Let's just open the straight.

• 8:32Jason Bateman?

  Just let the oil flow.

• 8:34Sean Hayes?

  Yeah.

• 8:34Will Arnett?

  Dude, they, they both gave really good thoughtful answers that were really represented with. Yeah, it was so interesting to listen to them.

• 8:43Sean Hayes?

  Yeah, it was wild to, it was wild to look over to both of them who I've known since they were, you know, tiny.

• 8:49Will Arnett?

  Yeah.

• 8:50Sean Hayes?

  And have these incredible, you know.

• 8:53Will Arnett?

  It was dope.

• 8:53Sean Hayes?

  Yeah, incredible opinions, thoughtful, you know, thoughts.

• 8:56Jason Bateman?

  They're both very bright.

• 8:57Sean Hayes?

  Yeah, they really are.

• 8:59Will Arnett?

  Uh, tell you who's, I tell you, tell you who's bright is our guest. I, I am excited for our guest today, man. This is, yeah, this is a dude that I have been such a fan of for a long, long time and he's done, his number of credits are insane. He, uh, Sean, you're gonna like this, okay?

• 9:18Sean Hayes?

  Okay.

• 9:19Will Arnett?

  He studied, uh, at the prestigious Moscow Arts Theater in Russia, okay? And, and then he went, I'm pretty sure he went to Harvard, uh, and got a master of fine arts or he did something like in there. He was like studying like crazy theater, has done a ton of theater. He's currently in a show on Broadway. I don't want to say the name, the title of the show because you're gonna know what it is immediately. He's done.

• 9:41Jason Bateman?

  Adrian Brody.

• 9:41Will Arnett?

  Countless, countless great performances in Wolf of Wall Street. He was, had a small part in Sicario, Baby Driver, Wind River. And they had great, great parts in, uh, Ford versus Ferrari, King Richard. Uh, you also know him as The Punisher. He's gonna be in The Odyssey. He was the accountant, Accountant Two. He's been in, uh, I got to know him by watching him on The Walking Dead, but I loved him in this series, We Own the City. Guys, it's Jon Bernthal.

• 10:07Jason Bateman?

  Yeah.

• 10:07Will Arnett?

  The great.

• 10:08Sean Hayes?

  Oh my gosh.

• 10:08Jason Bateman?

  I kinda got it.

• 10:09Will Arnett?

  The great.

• 10:10Jason Bateman?

  Hell.

• 10:10Speaker 03

  Wow, guys.

• 10:12Jason Bateman?

  Hey, buddy.

• 10:13Will Arnett?

  Jon, what, what a, what a thrill, man. I'm such a fan, dude. I'm such a fan of what you do.

• 10:19Speaker 03

  That's so cool. You just say happy birthday, Will, and, and I have to just.

• 10:24Sean Hayes?

  Sing it, John, sing it.

• 10:25Speaker 03

  Man, I would sing it, but I'm trying to cha, I'm trying to, you know, save my voice for Broadway right now, Sean. Holy fuck.

• 10:32Sean Hayes?

  Yeah.

• 10:32Speaker 03

  But, uh, Will, man, I just, I wanna tell you how much I, I just was blown away by, by, by your film, man. Uh, you know, like just such a beautiful dive. Into yeah, but just like about fatherhood and being a husband and being an artist and like re-falling in love with your wife and it just like, I don't know, it was one of those things where you know, like I, I found it on like the perfect day and the perfect time and it just filled me with so much.

• 10:57Will Arnett?

  Oh, that's cool.

• 10:58Speaker 03

  It really was your performance. It was just so, I, I, I reached out to, to Bradley about it as well, but it was just such a human, gorgeous, uh, deep felt performance and it was awesome, man. So, thank you for that.

• 11:11Will Arnett?

  Thank you very kindly. Thank you, dude. And, and, and, uh, I know you, you mentioned that you're saving your voice. John is currently, as you guys know, in Dog Day Afternoon on Broadway. Yeah, big hit. With my, with my good buddy Johnny O is in that too.

• 11:22Speaker 03

  Oh yeah, the best.

• 11:23Will Arnett?

  The best. Johnny O. And, uh, I mean, how's that going, man? How's, how's the play going? I mean, it's a hit, as Sean said.

• 11:30Speaker 03

  I mean, look, it, it's been, uh, it, it, it's so cool that folks are coming to the theater that don't normally come to the theater. I, I, I love seeing that. It's so many people that we, we, we see outside, say it's the first time. Not just that they've ever been on Broadway, but that they're coming to the theater. Uh, like buses are coming in from Staten Island, which is so great. Uh, and, and yeah, I mean, not to be a, a total cheese dick, but I did, I, I kinda, this, this thing, you know, sort of saved my life and I, I, I, I kinda came about it in Russia. That's really where I, I, I, I figured this, you, you know, that, that's really where my formative years were. And you know, theater there is very vital and it's for everybody.

• 12:11Speaker 03

  It's not this sort of exclusive thing for the gentry. It's, it's, it's for everybody and it's a part of everyday life and it's, it's, it's, uh, enormously important to folks. So it's really cool. I think that this is just sort of expanding the theater audience and it, it's been, it's been a thrill. It's been a thrill to see how much people dig it.

• 12:28Will Arnett?

  Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you mentioned, I mentioned too, that you don't, um, that you, that you were, you studied in Russia and I'm kind of so interested because you grew up in Maryland, which I want to get, we're going to come back to Maryland because we're going to come back to, uh, we own this city. Cause dude. But you you ended up studying theater in Russia. I'm like, how, walk us through how that happened, man? Because that's extraordinary.

• 12:50Sean Hayes?

  It seems like, well, again, what like, what time was that? About what year was that?

• 12:54Speaker 03

  So I lived in Russia from 99 to, I guess, 2001. And and and honestly, I mean, it's something, you know, I went to school to play sports. I played football and baseball and played baseball in in college. And but I was getting in all kinds of trouble. And really, if there was if there was a dead end to walk down, I was walking down it and just running into every kind of wall. And and, you know, I really sort of found theater on, you know, on an accident. Like, I was just an idiot and I signed up for a class and I thought I was taking the class with 600 kids in it and sitting in the back of a theater watching movies. But me being the the kind of asshole that I was, I I signed I signed up for the, you know, the the intro to theater class, which was just 10 people who took it very seriously.

• 13:38Sean Hayes?

  You thought it was like a movie theater?

• 13:40Speaker 03

  I totally did. That's what I heard. All the athletes were like, you have to take an art requirement. And I had no idea. And, you know, I've told this story before, but the the first assignment was to bring in something that was deeply important to you and to share it with the class. And I had never seen such weird, I I I'd never experienced something this sort of insane of these grown people talking about an object that that was so important to them and emoting and breaking down. And I I'd never really been around theater people before. And slowly but surely, it came to my turn. And I didn't bring anything. I didn't have anything because I was such a donkey. And, you know, but but I was going to fall baseball practice right after and I had my catcher's glove with me.

• 14:23Speaker 03

  So I just launched into this story about how my my mother had given me this baseball glove on her deathbed. And my mom's like alive and well in DC, but I launched into this story and I'm crying my eyes out. And everyone in the room is crying their eyes out. I'm like, no, no, no, wait, wait, wait. I'm just, I'm doing the the acting, you know? And like, snot was coming out of my, I was just so upset because I got lost in the story. And so this wonderful woman, Alma Becker, who my first theater teacher ended up marrying my wife and I, she, you know, kicked everybody out of that class and she just ripped my ass for violating the the sanctity of her studio, but she's like, you know, you got something and and my punishment was to audition for the the play and I got into it and I did the play and and um and she was the one

• 15:08Speaker 03

  when I wound up getting in a little bit of trouble and I couldn't finish school. You know, I said, look, this is something I really wanted to do and and and I had no idea sort of what the pathway was. Um, and she said, look, there is none, but if I were you, uh, I would try to get into the Moscow Art Theater and and and go go study over there.

• 15:25Jason Bateman?

  That's amazing.

• 15:26Speaker 03

  Yeah, it saved my life. I mean, and and and being in Russia.

• 15:28Jason Bateman?

  Yeah, but what what what part of that for, I mean, I'm I'll show my ignorance here because I'll bet the Moscow.

• 15:35Speaker 03

  Again?

• 15:36Jason Bateman?

  Yeah, that school um is a clear pathway to to to to to to to stuff. Um, but what you didn't know that. Why would you think that that would be, oh, yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I'll go to Moscow to figure out how to break into, you know, New York or Hollywood?

• 15:55Speaker 03

  Yeah, I I wasn't really thinking about kind of, you know, breaking in wasn't really even in the, you know, like staying out of trouble and just just just finding this thing and and really just this sort of blind faith I had in this wonderful woman and it's just such a testament to to to how beautiful a teacher, you know, the role that they can have in a young person's life and and and um it it's just astounding. She saved my life and I I and and it's it's really cool being here in New York and being on Broadway because I do feel so much of I I'm very um I feel like I'm very in touch with that eighteen year old kid, with that kid who found this thing and would have never believed in a million years you would have the opportunity to go out there, you know, in front of of of this kind of audience every day and and and Alma is

• 16:39Speaker 03

  is very much with me, you know, I we lost we lost her a few years back um way too young, but but I I think I just had blind faith in her and and and it wasn't really a pathway to New York. I I didn't know what an agent was. But but um it was that school, that place.

• 16:55Jason Bateman?

  Wow. Did you li- I mean, like, I'm I'm an idiot. Like, my perception of going to Russia now, I would never step foot in Russia just because of the

• 17:02Sean Hayes?

  You know, then I watched the news.

• 17:03Will Arnett?

  You might not come back.

• 17:04Sean Hayes?

  I might not come back. Was, what was it like for you then? And what is it, and would you ever go back?

• 17:09Speaker 03

  Oh, I would love to go back.

• 17:10Will Arnett?

  This was what, fifteen, twenty years ago?

• 17:12Speaker 03

  Yeah, I mean, now you can't. Yeah, it was ninety-nine, so twenty, you know, that's, that's when I first went. I mean, it was a wild time. You know, people referred to it as the Wild West there, you know? There were shootings at the, at, at the Duma, which is like their senate. You know, the Chechens were blowing up apartment buildings in town. It was completely wild. People were really, it was still a, a, at the beginning of this.

• 17:34Sean Hayes?

  And you're like, and I have a curtain at eight P M. People, I gotta get through the streets.

• 17:38Speaker 03

  Yeah. But, but I do think, you know, for me, you know, a few things at play. I mean, I think I sort of considered myself at the time. You know, I was a boxer. I was sort of a, you know, considered myself a street smart kind of guy. To kind of go into a world where not just it's a different alphabet, they speak a different language, but it was just so wildly different than anything that I ever saw. And I will say, I, I encountered, you know, real brutality. There's a real brutality on the streets that at that time was sort of impossible. It, it, it will find you one way or the other, but also mixed with this unbelievable, just profound beauty and this reverence for the arts. You know, they, there's a statue on every corner of a playwright or a poet or an actor.

• 18:23Speaker 03

  And, and, and honestly, at that time in my life, you know, I don't know that I would have, you know, responded, you know, really to American theater training, you know? To be a, to be an actor in Russia was such a revered thing. And it was a very, for lack of a better word, it was a very masculine thing to do.

• 18:39Will Arnett?

  Do you think, John, sort of coming from your background, then like going to a place that had that, that, that was like, it's almost like in-your-face arts in a way. I mean, reverential and, and also like appreciation, but so, you, you know, that it was, it was so sort of startling in that way. And it was so, so in-your-face. Do you think that that, that actually kind of woke you up to it in a way that you might not have been appreciated here in America? Do you know what I mean by that?

• 19:03Speaker 03

  I, I do. I mean, look, I think for me personally, and again, I know it, it sounds, maybe, you know, apologies. It sounds maybe grandiose, but I really do feel like it saved my life. Getting in so much trouble and my life just was making no sense and I I.

• 19:15Sean Hayes?

  And it gave you structure.

• 19:17Speaker 03

  It gave it gave me structure, gave me something to believe in, it connected me with something spiritual. And then when I went over there and my teachers were all folks who kind of came up in a system where public gathering was outlawed. So for them to do plays, you know, they were doing plays in subway tunnels and abandoned buildings. And had they been caught, you know, both the audience and the folks on stage would have been sent away, sent to prison. But it was so vital to them that they had to do it anyway. It was the it was it was it was religious for them and and. So for my teachers to to be those those kinds of people, um, you know, they're, you know, I I mean.

• 19:52Will Arnett?

  It makes me think like Sean, you're like, hey, any fun theater stories? Like, yeah, I once got shot in the head for doing a monologue.

• 19:59Sean Hayes?

  Yeah, John, sometimes I ask people who are are into theater on the show. I'm like, do you have like a staple hilarious, like something.

• 20:07Jason Bateman?

  You ever forget your lines?

• 20:09Sean Hayes?

  Like theater story, you know, like a classic, something went wrong. Uh, so, but I can't imagine, yeah.

• 20:14Will Arnett?

  Some of the Russia must be insane. Wait, John, I'm sorry, Jason, I just want to, we're in the theater here for a second, Jason, this is because it involves you. You're on Broadway right now. You're doing the show. The show's over. Do you have people come backstage? Go ahead, Jason.

• 20:31Sean Hayes?

  Jason has this.

• 20:32Jason Bateman?

  Do you want people backstage when you're done with the show?

• 20:34Sean Hayes?

  He's obsessed with the with the rules of people going backstage.

• 20:38Jason Bateman?

  Cause I hear if you don't go back, you're being rude. And I figure if you go back, you're being presumptuous that likes, you know, hey, you're famous, I'm famous, we don't know each other, but you probably want to say hi, you know.

• 20:47Speaker 03

  Oh, man, how do you answer this without getting in trouble? Yeah, I don't know. I I I.

• 20:53Will Arnett?

  We've asked everybody, don't worry.

• 20:54Speaker 03

  No, no, it look, you know, it's such a weird thing because I don't want to know who's there. And I feel like there's always a way that it's the information kind of sneaks through. I mean, Evan and I have done a thing, there's a guest list. So almost every night Evan and I, you know, I think last night we we said Barack Obama was there. The night before, I think we said, we always make shit up just to freak everybody out, but.

• 21:17Speaker 03

  I don't know, I, I, you know, I, it's, it's, it's a very, it, it, I really appreciate when folks come back and it's not an awkward, you know, it's, it's really, it's, it's really, um, it, it, it, it's like a hotbed of awkwardness, I feel like a lot of times, even when people are, they're clearly moved, it clearly was, but you know, you're so tired and you're in a weird sort of state.

• 21:41Jason Bateman?

  Yeah, and that's just it, you're kind of obligated to make them feel comfortable because it's your house, you know, you're back there and you're dressed.

• 21:47Speaker 03

  And they're obligated to make you feel that they loved it, you know.

• 21:50Jason Bateman?

  Right.

• 21:51Will Arnett?

  Jason, Jason, do you think that there's a world now, like next week, if you're, you're in New York, you go and you see, which you should go see, I want to come and see Dog Day.

• 21:59Jason Bateman?

  I can't wait to see it.

• 21:59Will Arnett?

  Jason, can you now, having had this conversation with John, do you find that you could, you could show up next week?

• 22:05Jason Bateman?

  But only because we've had this conversation, so that when we see each other, it's not going to be awkward, we'll give each other that little look, like, I'm here.

• 22:12Speaker 03

  Man, I would want you to do exactly what you want to do, like, if you wanted to come back, I would want you to come back, but if you didn't, I would want you to feel so totally good about that, to just go on out and enjoy your night, you know.

• 22:24Jason Bateman?

  I just, I just assume people want to get home, you know.

• 22:30Jason Bateman?

  We'll be right back.

• 22:33Jason Bateman?

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• 23:13Speaker 04

  Instagram teen accounts have automatic protections for what teens see and who can contact them, plus time management tools. And Instagram will continue adding built-in safety features to help create age-appropriate experiences. Learn more about teen accounts and Instagram's ongoing work to protect teens online at instagram.com/teenaccounts.

• 23:45Speaker 05

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• 24:15Jason Bateman?

  And now, back to the show.

• 24:18Sean Hayes?

  John, do you do the, any kind of warm-up stuff with your voice? Like, I mean, do you even think about where you place your voice and how you support it so you can do eight shows a week and all that? Because you do, if you don't know how to do it, you do tend to, people tend to lose their voices pretty quickly.

• 24:33Speaker 03

  Yeah, no, it's a, it's a, it's a battle. And, and that, that was the thing everybody said going in. And I, I know, Sean, you know it so well. It's, it's, uh, you know, it's, it's like physically, that, that's one thing I sort of feel like I always have in, in, in the bag, you know? Like, the, the physical thing. You're not gonna exhaust me that way. This is fucking exhausting. I mean, this is unlike anything I've ever done.

• 24:54Sean Hayes?

  Yeah.

• 24:55Speaker 03

  But, you know, the, um, I, you'll, if you, if you do see it, you know, I speak in a much higher register when I, when I do the show. Um, and I think that that helps, but yeah, I definitely warm up and, um, you know, Kate Wilson's working with us and she's incredible. You know, she's like one of one.

• 25:10Sean Hayes?

  I just did this show a while, just a few weeks ago, called The Unknown. And in it, every single night, for seven shows a week, the op, on page one, I, I, there's this stalker stalking me out. What a show. There's this stalker stalking me outside of the house. And I would do the same movement every single time. I would go up on the ball of my foot, right? I would go on the ball of my foot, looking like I'm looking for the stalker outside the house. Look at this.

• 25:35Speaker 03

  No.

• 25:35Jason Bateman?

  Oh, no.

• 25:36Speaker 03

  I have a boot on.

• 25:37Jason Bateman?

  Walking boot.

• 25:38Speaker 03

  I have a boot on because of the play.

• 25:40Will Arnett?

  You didn't hear about boots? Boots is.

• 25:42Speaker 03

  Yeah, boots is back. Because of this repetitive, right? The repetitive movements that you do every single day. So, don't you, is there any part of your body just like feeling that? Any kind of like physical?

• 25:56Jason Bateman?

  Well, can I answer this for you, John? You see, John doesn't mainline fucking ding dongs and tuna fish sandwiches.

• 26:04Will Arnett?

  So, he's not like acting like a person who needs to be cut out of their house. You know what I mean?

• 26:08Jason Bateman?

  His calf, his calf can withstand a little, a little press.

• 26:12Will Arnett?

  Yeah, because he's getting over 1,100 steps a day, okay?

• 26:17Speaker 03

  I, I will say, I, I try to box or go to the gym every day. And I do think it really does help that you're doing something.

• 26:24Will Arnett?

  For Tracy, for Tracy and Sean, the gym is.

• 26:29Jason Bateman?

  It's spelled G Y M.

• 26:31Speaker 03

  Oh, okay, got it. Not gym.

• 26:34Jason Bateman?

  Hey, John, what, what was, without prying too much into your, into your history and your, your flavor of trouble that you like to get into? What was it that you found about the theater that was a bit of?

• 26:47Will Arnett?

  Oh, Jay, I thought you were gonna say like, what, what was your favorite kind of coke? Because I prefer Colombian.

• 26:51Jason Bateman?

  Because I don't mind a speedy brand every once in a while. What, what was like, what, what did you find theater did for, for you that alleviated some of that?

• 27:02Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 27:03Jason Bateman?

  The cause?

• 27:04Speaker 03

  I found that the exact same energy that I tapped into when I was young and, and sort of my way of, you know, my best friends are the planet, on the planet are still the guys that I grew up with. They're my best friends and I, and I think that we were wild kids and we, we, um, and I think our way of honestly telling each other that we loved each other was, um, taking crazy risks together and, and, and doing things that we shouldn't have done. And I, I felt that for me, the, the very same thing, the reckless abandonment. And the

• 27:45Will Arnett?

  High wire act.

• 27:46Speaker 03

  I'll say like the violence, the, the, the, like, let's just throw it all away. Like whatever this is, we're fucking going. Finding that, but using it, tapping into that same thing.

• 27:56Will Arnett?

  Full commitment.

• 27:57Speaker 03

  Landing me in jail, it wasn't landing me in trouble or getting kicked out of schools. It was actually bringing joy to people and making me find different parts of myself that I knew how to sort of access really well, but it was, I mean, again, without sounding like a cheesedick, it was, it was using it for good and, and uh, it, it, it did, it saved my life.

• 28:17Will Arnett?

  Yeah. I mentioned, um, Walking Dead, that was the first time that, that I feel like I

• 28:24Will Arnett?

  remember seeing you on a regular basis in something. And I was like, I, I remember watching that show and thinking, who the fuck is this dude? He's so locked in, he's so dialed, like this dude is, he, he's got something. Was that, was that a thing, was that a major turning point, do you think, in, in your professional career, uh, Walking Dead?

• 28:42Speaker 03

  Yeah, absolutely, a- a- absolutely. And, and, and just in my life in general at that point, you know, I, I, I got married right after season one, uh, to, um, to, to my wife who I met the day I got home from Russia. She's a, she was ICU trauma nurse. Um, we, we, we grew up together, she's seen the worst of me, um, hopefully the best of me. Um, but you know, she's, she's my whole life and, and, um, had my first child in the, in the beginning of season two, surrounded by people who had young families, you know, doing this work and the work still meant so much to them and they were just family and work and, um, but yeah, I think with Frank Darabont and that show,

• 29:24Speaker 03

  you know, it, it, it, none of us in a million years thought it was gonna be kind of the, the juggernaut thing that, that it was, there was such humility to it and, and, and people believed in it so much. And it's funny because if you, you know, if you put, you know, six or seven people out in the woods and, and you say, okay, there's zombies out there. If one person isn't going a hundred percent towards that fucking truth, it's like everything else is bullshit, you know?

• 29:48Will Arnett?

  Yeah.

• 29:49Speaker 03

  So the show was just such kind of total commitment right from the beginning and, um, yeah. It's, uh, I, I was just so grateful to Frank and, and, and, and so grateful to be a part of that show. You know, it was definitely, definitely life changing.

• 30:03Will Arnett?

  Yeah, I imagine. But it's funny you say that. Yeah, like, everybody's got, that show had such a great ability to, to keep the tension so taut at all times. Like, you were just, like, always on the edge of your seat. And you're right. Imagine if you had one guy just kind of dialing it in the frame.

• 30:19Speaker 03

  Yeah, phoning it in.

• 30:22Will Arnett?

  That guy doesn't see that worried about what's going on.

• 30:26Jason Bateman?

  Hey, John, what, what, talk about the, sort of that transition from how acting sort of, was serving you in, in, in one respect early on. And then as sort of your, your demons, you started to get some distance from your demons a bit. And it's really starting to fall in love with the, with, with, with, with the acting and the, and the, and the talent you were recognizing in yourself. And you started to shape some technique, I would imagine. And talk about that transition into, well, wait a second, I'm no longer kind of that guy. I'm kind of really becoming more this part of myself. And this could actually become a career, an occupation, and I'm kind of decent at this.

• 31:07Jason Bateman?

  And, and, and, uh, like, was there a point where you realized, oh, wait, I'm kind of, I'm kind of all in on this now? And I don't really know how to do anything else. And I like that. And this, this is gonna be it. Let's, let's really become this guy. And was there that moment? Or did it just kind of happen naturally as jobs kind of progressed? And, and now you look back and you go, wow, now I, now I am this.

• 31:31Speaker 03

  Well, look, I mean, I, I, I think that, um, I, I think that there's something, I don't know if you guys feel it being, you know, with everything you guys have done and who you are. But I, for me, I know the healthiest relationship that I can have with this thing is to, um, just to, to, to, to be hungry and, and, and to not really be at any place of arrival. And what I love about, it's the same thing I love about being a dad, i- i- is that the only thing that's for certain is you're gonna fucking fail. You know, like, you're gonna mess up. And you gotta like, you gotta, you gotta own it. And you, and you gotta acknowledge it. And you gotta work through it. And each one of those mess ups and each one of those failings is such an unbelievable opportunity

• 32:14Speaker 03

  for connection and, and, and teaching and growing together for both you and your kid. And, and, and I, I, I feel so. I feel like it's the exact same with what we do and I'm I'm again, I'm just like very, very grateful that I get to do something that I can always just I'm I'm always chasing and trying to get better at.

• 32:34Sean Hayes?

  And challenging yourself.

• 32:34Speaker 03

  But I will say at the time, yeah, for sure. And and and like right now, like doing this play like to be this at this age and at this point in my life and still be terrified is such a thrill, you know?

• 32:44Will Arnett?

  It's dope.

• 32:45Sean Hayes?

  Yeah, for sure.

• 32:46Speaker 03

  It's very cool.

• 32:46Sean Hayes?

  That's why you do it, yeah.

• 32:48Speaker 03

  Yeah, but I will say for me, luckily, um, things started to kind of work out for me at the exact same time that uh I started a family and and and I will say it's just for me, my life has become, you know, really, really simple and clear. It's it's it's them and it's this and and I'm I'm very happy with that and I and I.

• 33:08Will Arnett?

  That's that's not a coincidence, by the way. That's not a coincidence. I think we all know like for me, I had the similar experiences. Having kids has cracked me open in a way that it's allowed me to be open to all sorts of things. And and I I so I I I always believe that those kinds of things go hand in hand and and um, you know, it's funny, you were saying this thing about, you know, you're gonna make mistakes and I always think about, I remember watching this documentary about this soccer team, but the coach, this very famous coach, Jose Mourinho, we were talking to the team, the team kind of got down on themselves and they were down at halftime. And he comes in, they filmed his speech to the team and he was like, you guys are acting like every time there's a mistake or the other team gets a goal or whatever, it's the end of the world. And he's like, the other team is gonna score.

• 33:51Sean Hayes?

  Right.

• 33:51Will Arnett?

  The you're gonna make mistakes. They're they're gonna get a goal because they're trying to do the same thing you are. The but the the trick is, what do you do? How do you cope with it? That's the thing. And I was that always stuck with me like, and I sort of apply it. I I don't know about you guys. I think about that shit all the time in my life. When stuff doesn't go exactly my way, I go, yeah, shit's not gonna always go your way. Okay, I can't fall apart when it doesn't.

• 34:16Sean Hayes?

  Yeah.

• 34:17Will Arnett?

  I gotta go, okay, now what? What can I do now? You know what I mean?

• 34:21Speaker 03

  And sometimes things go, you know, just the the sort of proximity to, you know, real tragedy and and and real failure and, you know, these things with sometimes life hands you such a kick in the ass that will change your entire perspective, but also, you know, there's real tragedy that I that I think comes part and parcel with it. But sometimes you just get close to it. Sometimes it's just a reawakening or you get close to something or you think maybe somebody's sick and they're not. And and and I just, I I I feel like it is it is it is so true that with each, you know, sort of failing or fall or tragedy, there are for such an opportunity. And and I do think, you know,

• 35:06Speaker 03

  primarily, the job is now to to be a parent and and you got to hold it together and you got to show them the different lenses that, you know, that that that that just changing your perspective, how much can be gained by that.

• 35:18Will Arnett?

  Luckily, I'm able to show my kids a lot of failure, so it's good.

• 35:22Speaker 03

  There you go.

• 35:23Will Arnett?

  Very open with them.

• 35:24Speaker 03

  Yeah, me too.

• 35:25Jason Bateman?

  How old are the kids, John?

• 35:27Speaker 03

  I have a 14 year old, a 12 year old, a 10 year old, and then my little four year old niece has come to to live with us the last the last few years, too.

• 35:36Jason Bateman?

  Oh, that's great. That's terrific. Are any of them showing any interest in what you do?

• 35:40Speaker 03

  Oh, gosh, no, man. No, no, no. I mean, I might.

• 35:43Jason Bateman?

  Have they come see the play?

• 35:44Speaker 03

  Yeah, they've come to see the play and they're coming again this weekend. But my kids are all, you know, they're they're they're very into sports and and and the outdoors and, you know, and and and it's, you know, they have very full and beautiful hearts, each one of them, and each one of them is so, you know, such an individual. You know, it's there for them, I think, if if if they'd ever want it. But I I think right now, it's, you know, I'm what I do is not too cool to them.

• 36:14Jason Bateman?

  How do you, um, cause I, I, I think about this for myself. I've got, I've got two girls, nineteen and fourteen and, um, and you know, I'm, I haven't had a, a, a perfectly straight line towards where I'm at, you know, emotionally or otherwise, you know, I, I, I didn't do, you know, the perfect thing all the time. Um, but I like, I like where I've landed and, and I don't think I would have landed in this spot had I not banged into a couple of walls. And so as I see my girls growing up and, um, uh, you know, when they, when they go through things that are, that are not sheltered, um, I start to think, well, how would I react

• 36:57Jason Bateman?

  if they make a wrong choice, you know, if the, and because like, I don't want to be hypocritical. I like the way my adversity has sort of shaped me. And so I, I, I battle with that as a parent, you know, you want your kids to have a pristine, you know, travel. Um, so how, you know, like I'm sure your kids are, they've, they've got half-

• 37:17Will Arnett?

  By pristine, do you mean like, by pristine, do you mean like protected? Like you want them to-

• 37:20Jason Bateman?

  Well, no, but I mean, I think it's just a natural instinct. You don't want, you don't want your kid to ever make a mistake. You don't want anything to, yeah.

• 37:26Will Arnett?

  I see what you mean.

• 37:26Jason Bateman?

  But, right. So I just, I wonder if, if my kids, uh, ever started to experiment with some of the risks that I went through.

• 37:34Speaker 03

  Sure.

• 37:34Jason Bateman?

  I wouldn't want to be, I wouldn't encourage them to do that, but I certainly wouldn't be, um, unaccepting of them coming to me afterwards and saying, yeah, I screwed up. I did this. You know, so I'm not sure what the question is, but you know, I guess would you, how tolerant would you be if your kids started to walk down somewhere the same path you did, knowing that you came out okay, you know?

• 37:54Speaker 03

  Yeah. I mean, it's such a good, look, I mean, it's, it's, it's again, it's like, these are the questions where, where, you know, you know, as parents, it's like, you know, we're, it, it's such a blessing to be this obsessed with these people's lives and their wellbeing. And I think adversity is such a important word.

• 38:11Jason Bateman?

  Shaper.

• 38:11Speaker 03

  There is absolutely no way that I could do the things that I could do, put food on the table, the way that I do, if I didn't get the, the licks that I got and the bumps that I got and the, and, and, and was in the valleys that, that, that I spent a lot of time in. And so I knew, you know, instinctively, I know with my children adversity is so necessary. And how do I teach my kids the things I've learned, but also know they cannot learn them the way that I learned them because there was so many times, and I'm sure it's the same for you guys, where this shit could have gone either way. It was razor fucking close. And like, you know, and we've lost people. I've lost people. I've lost my freedom. I've been in situations where, okay, but by the grace of whatever you want to call

• 38:55Speaker 03

  it, it just went a different way. But oh my gosh, like I've seen it really not work out. And so, you know, from a, from a young age with my kids, you know, they were, you know, competing in martial arts. They were, you know, like everybody needs to know how to swim. Everybody needs to know how to defend themselves. Everybody needs to know how to be in the outdoors. And, and, and how can you sort of under the umbrella of safety, put them in really, really hard, challenging situations where they can learn from. And, and I, I, I think moreover, I think especially for, for, for my boys, you know, how do I teach them, you know, in, in, in this day and age where there's so few role models out there for these young boys?

• 39:37Speaker 03

  How do I teach them that like, yes, like it, like it is absolutely paramount that you are a protector, that you're a provider, that you're somebody that can be counted on, that, that people in a crowd, if something goes wrong, will you guys have the know-how and the ability to be helpful? But also equally important, are you sensitive? Are you kind? Are you vulnerable? Are you open? Are you curious? Do you not judge? Do you, are, are you hungry for conversation? Are you hungry to learn? Are you hungry to be challenged by somebody who thinks, looks, feels, prays to somebody completely different than you? Are you confident enough in yourself to, to, to approach any conversation, but also be nimble enough to, to, to listen and to be swayed and be changed?

• 40:20Will Arnett?

  I'm not, I'm not, John, I need your guidance. Jesus Christ, I need your guidance.

• 40:24Speaker 03

  Come on, man. But you know, it's all of it, you know? Like that's what's so cool about it. And I do feel, I don't know if you guys feel the same thing, but I do feel these paths for me. are really lining up where where the work that at least the work that I want to be doing. Um, you know, really has a it it really informs this. It informs me as a human being. I get a deeper understanding. But also, you know, one day my kids will look at it and they'll say, one, yeah, dad was working his ass off. But two, you know, that that that there's that there's a there's a message there that that there's a humanity there that they see in all people. Even even when you play a monster, you know, that there's there's a little kid in there. There's a scared little kid in there. And and and that that it's never too late. It's never too late to bring somebody out of the valley.

• 41:08Sean Hayes?

  How in the world did you gather all this wisdom? It's what you everything you just said. Smart fellow. Seriously, it's incredible.

• 41:14Will Arnett?

  He doesn't spend all his time watching Below Deck eating Swedish fish. You know what I mean?

• 41:19Sean Hayes?

  I gotta cross that off my I gotta cross it off my list.

• 41:21Will Arnett?

  I mean, what are you talking about? He's out in the world, okay?

• 41:27Sean Hayes?

  No, traitors, traitors.

• 41:29Will Arnett?

  Traitors.

• 41:29Sean Hayes?

  Uh, no, seriously, it's it. You're just that was just incredible. Everything you just said.

• 41:34Will Arnett?

  Well, you know, you went through he went through the fire. But Sean, but Sean, you I mean, look, you, everybody that I know here on the on this thing, Sean, you you you came. You didn't have anybody handed you this.

• 41:46Sean Hayes?

  This is true.

• 41:47Will Arnett?

  You came from a, you know, you had a single mom household. Your dad left, which we make fun of all the time down. It's super funny the way he left. It was so sudden.

• 41:56Sean Hayes?

  Fantastic.

• 41:57Will Arnett?

  And.

• 41:58Sean Hayes?

  It was really wonderful.

• 41:59Will Arnett?

  Five kids, just left them all. Just one day, just gone, just evaporated.

• 42:03Sean Hayes?

  Just tire screech.

• 42:04Will Arnett?

  Yeah, just like he was on the start, like on this USS Enterprise, he just got beamed out of there. So. So, so, but I mean, Sean, you grew up in that and you you had to kind of fend for yourself and you found your way. And you were a talented dude and JB, you were out in the world working since you were a kid and you had to kind of fend for yourself as well. Like, you know what it's like and none of us knew anybody. I didn't know anybody in show business.

• 42:27Sean Hayes?

  And Will, you had like, how many how many maids and servers did you have to leave your house?

• 42:31Will Arnett?

  I mean, we we ended up reducing after the crash of eighty seven, we reduced a little bit. But at boarding school, everybody was, anyway, it doesn't matter.

• 42:40Jason Bateman?

  Parking spot for all of them, you know, it's like.

• 42:43Will Arnett?

  But, but the, the point is like you, you, I bet you have more, it feels like, John, what's, what's nice is you have real access to your experience in a way that's very, that, that you're, you stay very in touch with it. And that's great because you can kind of, because your kids can learn from that. And that is a thing that I, that I try to do. I try to, Jason, like you were saying, I, I have those moments where I'm like, trying to understand their experience, where they're at, trying to identify with where they're at, where, where I was at at that age. I have three boys, I have two teenage boys, and I spend a lot of time going, you know, they're going through it, they're going through those years. And I go like, let them have the thing, don't try, and, and also don't make it about me and like, hey, when I was a kid, just let them have those things, but

• 43:27Will Arnett?

  try to identify with those moments. And it's not always easy, you know, but you try to do it as much as you can.

• 43:34Jason Bateman?

  Yeah.

• 43:36Sean Hayes?

  We'll be right back.

• 43:40Speaker 04

  Instagram teen accounts have automatic protections for what teens see and who can contact them, plus time management tools. And Instagram will continue adding built-in safety features to help create age-appropriate experiences. Learn more about teen accounts and Instagram's ongoing work to protect teens online at instagram.com/teenaccounts.

• 44:09Speaker 05

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• 44:57Jason Bateman?

  Back to the show.

• 44:59Sean Hayes?

  John, do you have, because everything, I could talk to you about all this stuff you were just talking about forever. I love talking about that kind of stuff.

• 45:05Will Arnett?

  Don't give him your number, John. Do not give him your number.

• 45:07Sean Hayes?

  Area code 323.

• 45:08Will Arnett?

  He's gonna try to go side chat. He's gonna try to go side chat.

• 45:11Sean Hayes?

  No, now, do your kids get, do your kids feel like dad is overwhelming with all of those kind of teachings and kind of parenting? Or do they actually listen to what you're saying?

• 45:22Speaker 03

  I'm not sure. You know, I'm not sure. Look, I, you know, like, I took my oldest son boxes. I'm his trainer. I coached my, you know, I coached them in football and I, and I've coached them in basketball since they were young. You know, I coached my daughter. The thing that I know they see is what I saw in my dad. And, you know, my dad was the guy that when people in the neighborhood, people around DC, my friends, they all had their own relationships with my dad. When they were in trouble, they went to my dad. He was their coach. He was the guy that, he'd call them straight. You know, he wouldn't bullshit them. He'd, he'd, he'd help them. He always had everybody's back.

• 46:03Speaker 03

  And he wouldn't judge. He'd, let's, let's, let's work through this. Let's get through this and then we'll deal with the judgment and all that shit later. But he was the guy that could really be depended on. And so I think my kids have seen that, you know, I have real relationships. You know, we, we live in, you know, this small town of, you know, we live in Ojai and we've been there 15 years.

• 46:23Sean Hayes?

  I love Ojai, yeah.

• 46:24Speaker 03

  And it's such a small, yeah, it's beautiful. And it's, it's a beautiful community where you still can, you know, raise other kids. You know, you parent other, other, other people's kids, you know. Kids come to me and, you know, I, I teach them how to box. I've, I've been coaching football there for the last six years. And, and, and, you know, we have a theater there where the kids come. And, and so I think that the one thing my kids know is that it's not... I'm I'm I'm sort of the same with all of them and and if kid comes to me, it doesn't matter if he's my kid or your kid. You know, I I really, really, I want to give them whatever I can give them with with while saying, look, I don't have the fucking answers. Like, I I hit every wall you can hit.

• 47:03Sean Hayes?

  Right.

• 47:03Speaker 03

  But like, it's never too late and like, your parents love you, you know, whether you're, you know, whether you're, whether they left or not, whether they're incarcerated or not, they love you, so.

• 47:10Will Arnett?

  Sean, Sean, by the way, he started, he started a theater, uh, basically a theater and a theater festival in up in Ojai, is that right?

• 47:16Sean Hayes?

  Oh, I didn't, I didn't know that.

• 47:17Will Arnett?

  Yeah.

• 47:18Sean Hayes?

  That's cool.

• 47:18Speaker 03

  Yeah, I mean, it's it's just, you know, in in the town, it's it's it's it it the town has given me so much and I love it and and um, you know, since we, since my first exposure to it, um, you know, I saw something in the young people in that town, you know, ten, fifteen years ago, where there was such sturdiness and and and such grace and kindness, there's a, it's it's yes, it's it's yes, sir, no, ma'am, but there's nothing repressed or suppressed, the kids are curious, there's a really strong onus of the young people in Ojai to get out, go see the world, go experience things and then come back and raise your family there and it's a really beautiful

• 47:57Speaker 03

  community, but I will say over the past, you know, five, ten years especially, so many folks have moved up there and and and culturally, it's it's really a place in in in in conflict because it's the tipping point has has kind of happened, it's very, you know, we we see it in big cities all the time, definitely happened in DC where I grew up, but, you know, in Ojai, it's really gotten to a place where, you know, the public school there, which was a real bastion of of of of public education, has really suffered because of the influx of Angelenos that have come up there and uh, so I just, I I I I love that school, I love these kids, I love these institutional Ojai families, so we built a theater in an old defunct um, school building.

• 48:41Will Arnett?

  That's so cool.

• 48:41Speaker 03

  And all the proceeds go to the public school theater department and, you know, we were able to raise, yeah, we, a ton, it was really cool.

• 48:48Will Arnett?

  Sean's agreeing to do a show there next year, it's great.

• 48:50Sean Hayes?

  Yeah, that's sweet, Sean, I can see why.

• 48:52Will Arnett?

  What a winner, great of something.

• 48:54Sean Hayes?

  You know, Will, Will always, Will always uh, makes fun of me because I, whenever I go to like a party or a dinner, I want to leave right away. And I'm like, I learned it from my dad.

• 49:03Will Arnett?

  Oh, look at that.

• 49:05Jason Bateman?

  That's the way it comes back.

• 49:06Will Arnett?

  Look who jumped on, look who jumped on.

• 49:08Jason Bateman?

  He did teach you something.

• 49:09Will Arnett?

  You know, we mentioned, you mentioned DC and Maryland and I want to, I want to get to, because it was one of the, I, for me, it was a show that really, I, I thought like, wow. It really fucking, uh, just blew me away. When you played, uh, was it Wayne Jenkins?

• 49:24Speaker 03

  Wayne Jenkins, yeah.

• 49:25Will Arnett?

  Yeah, on We Own the City. Did you guys see that on HBO, this David Simon show?

• 49:27Speaker 03

  I did not, damn it.

• 49:28Will Arnett?

  It's unbelievable and, and what's cool is now, kind of just talking to you, I under, you, I can see that, like, you brought some of your own knowledge of all that kind of stuff and like, sort of the dark, guys who ended up staying on the wrong track or got on the wrong track and never got off in this really, I mean, Wayne is a very compromised character, right? He's, and he does, and I think that somewhere along the line, he, when, when he started, he thinks he's doing the right thing, right? Like, he thinks he's fighting in this, but he's actually ends up sort of going, going rogue or bad or whatever. But he sees himself not, not as doing that. Anyway, it's a very, it's a very complex portrayal and I love that show. I mean, that, that must, tell me about working with David Simon and

• 50:12Will Arnett?

  what that experience was like. It's excellent, man.

• 50:14Speaker 03

  Thanks, man. I appreciate it. That one is my heart and, and, uh, you know, it was such a, a thrill and an honor for me. I think, I think, I think first and foremost, you know, at that time, in the, in the wake of Freddie Gray and in the midst of, of George Floyd and everything that was going on in this country, and for me, just being so, uh, I, I, I think naturally, uh, based on people in my life and based on my own experience, I'm, I'm, I'm so revolted by the, the, the flag waving in this country, the people on either side of the poles, just waving their flag full of rhetoric, but they've never been in the valleys. They've never been in the situation where they're actually rubbing elbows with the other side. So you can't, there, there's no, there's no access to, to,

• 50:56Speaker 03

  to recognizing decency in each other. There's no access for empathy. There's no access to, to, to, for friendship, uh, or for any level of understanding, because you're just staying on your mountaintop, you know, from the, you know, just waving your flag. And, and, and so for me, to go into this project, you know, that, you know, in Baltimore, which is sort of like right in the tip of the spear of, of, of race and policing at, at, at that time.

• 51:20Will Arnett?

  Yeah.

• 51:21Speaker 03

  You know, and get this front row ticket and also just to have the access coming in, sort of with the street cred of, of David Simon and how much The Wire. You know, in that city, that that wire for both the guys on the street, the people in the community and for the police, like that is that is like required watching, like the cops that I know in Baltimore, they watch that every year to remind them that it's not personal, it's business and.

• 51:45Will Arnett?

  You guys gotta see it, yeah. I would love to. You've seen The Wire, right? You guys have seen The Wire, right? Yeah, not yet. Yeah, yeah.

• 51:49Speaker 03

  So, so for me to kind of go in there like that, you know, I got to go, you know, I rode out with those guys every night for, for, for three straight months and went on SWAT raids with the county SWAT team and the city SWAT team, but got to know Wayne, got to know, you know, that whole unit of the Gun Trace Task Force. So I made unbelievable friends and I was able to see, you know, I'm, I'm just so grateful to, to really see it in that way, but I, I think more than anything else, man, and you know, look, he was considered, you know, the most corrupt, the most vicious, the most sort of vile, you know, police officer in the history of that city. So to go into the police department and say, hey, I want to ride out with you guys, I want to be around you guys to research this, this very, very

• 52:34Speaker 03

  ugly chapter of their life. I, I, I learned quickly, you know, with policing, you know, how, other than the victims and the community, uh, that are, that, that, that are just drastically devastated by corrupt policing, it's also good cops are just, that, that are terrorized by it and, and their careers are completely destroyed by it and their safety on the street is totally upended by it as well. But, but I think mostly, you know, for me, the, the, the key for me was how do you play this guy and not just play him as a monster? How do you find, you know, some sort of, and, and it was interesting, man, because every single person who knew Wayne, it was the first thing I said to him when I, when I first met him,

• 53:17Speaker 03

  everybody who talked to him said, you know, even if he was in the middle of robbing a drug dealer or, or, or, or, you know, shaking a guy down, making a false arrest, no matter what it was, if any of his kids needed him at any point, if there was ever an issue with the kids, he would run home immediately. And it really hit me, you know, how can you engage in such corruption, knowing that most likely this is going to have a bad end because criminality almost always ends bad? How can you be that?

• 53:46Speaker 03

  Attuned to your family and, and, and you're really doing one to support your family because you feel like you're not getting paid what you deserve. But, but, but that sort of conundrum and dichotomy, you know, really was at the crux of who I think he is and why he was so kind of torn apart. But, but he wasn't just a monster.

• 54:02Will Arnett?

  Right, right, right. He's, well, yeah, no, he's complex. Sean adds, you had a little bit of criminality. Remember that time you guys almost got a ticket to Scotty Devil Park while you ran into Chipotle? I remember that, that story.

• 54:12Sean Hayes?

  That was risky. Wait. When I was in, when I was in college, I stole a turkey sandwich from a 7-Eleven. And I got arrested.

• 54:23Will Arnett?

  Are you gonna play the turkey sandwich in the movie? Or you get David Simon to write? David Simon.

• 54:29Jason Bateman?

  Hey, John, John.

• 54:33Sean Hayes?

  I'll read for it.

• 54:34Jason Bateman?

  John, you're such a great communicator and you are.

• 54:38Will Arnett?

  Yeah, it's sick.

• 54:39Sean Hayes?

  It's unbelievable.

• 54:40Jason Bateman?

  You're such a great communicator and you are of such a passion for community and country and it seems like you do not shy away from opportunities for leadership. Have you ever thought about politics at all? Do you see that ever? I mean, no, I know. No, no, I, I, I think everybody has that reaction anytime anybody ever thinks about it or it's mentioned them. But you look at our, I don't, I'm not asking, I don't care what side of the political spectrum you're on, but you look at our current leaders, our current, like, you yearn for someone that can communicate like you and that can have the kind of genuine passion for people, for, for.

• 55:20Sean Hayes?

  Community.

• 55:21Jason Bateman?

  Condition and community and we need folks like you, if you ever have the time. So.

• 55:27Sean Hayes?

  Oh, man.

• 55:28Jason Bateman?

  You got my vote.

• 55:29Sean Hayes?

  Yeah.

• 55:30Speaker 03

  I vote Chase, Adam, be careful, bro. Look, no, I mean, I, I, look, I, I, I appreciate that. I, I, I think the people that know me well, my brothers, I have a brother who's a cancer surgeon, the head of oncology at UCLA and orthopedics. He's like, that guy should be running for, that guy is, is, yeah, but, but, but, but, you know, I really believe that what we do can really be effective. I I just do in my heart and and and I think that you you know for me, I feel most natural and most authentic. Honestly, coaching and teaching and doing it in my community on the one on one.

• 56:07Jason Bateman?

  Yeah.

• 56:07Speaker 03

  I think, uh, you you know, and and and and I think as far I I do really feel that what we do can really provide a service and and can create real change and and and and can really, you you know, bring human beings together and and and and that's what I really want to do.

• 56:23Jason Bateman?

  Yeah, and when you do it as well as you, you you can.

• 56:25Will Arnett?

  Yeah, and and he does it like like it like I said, like in in We Own the City, like there it is a great lesson in in in a lot of sort of really complex issues in that way. So it's you are you are you are being of service well, like through through your art.

• 56:37Jason Bateman?

  Making smiles.

• 56:38Will Arnett?

  Yeah, he made smiles. And then, I mean, dude, you got so many.

• 56:40Sean Hayes?

  He's not getting votes, he's getting smiles.

• 56:42Will Arnett?

  You got so many cool things coming. You've done so many cool things and it it's like you're like accelerating, man. Like you're just like, it's awesome. And I'm so psyched that everybody's getting to see you work in so many different ways. You've got this summer, you've got uh, I'm uh, the new Spider-Man, brand new days coming out uh, with with right with the Punisher in it and and uh, that trailer like broke every record when it came out. And that trailer is so sick.

• 57:04Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 57:05Will Arnett?

  And and and I'm not like a huge like superhero movie fan and even even I'm like, fuck, this movie looks dope. And um, and then you got then you're in The Odyssey, right? And Chris Nolan's The Odyssey.

• 57:16Jason Bateman?

  Nice.

• 57:16Will Arnett?

  Uh, can you talk a little bit about working with that? Because obviously Chris Nolan's one of the greats.

• 57:20Speaker 03

  Yeah, look.

• 57:21Jason Bateman?

  You had to slug it out there with that fucking drip, Matt Damon.

• 57:24Will Arnett?

  Oh, God, yeah. Sorry. We're talking about a squeaky wheel.

• 57:27Jason Bateman?

  Yeah, that's right.

• 57:28Will Arnett?

  God, it's just what a complainer.

• 57:30Jason Bateman?

  You made it. You made it, though.

• 57:31Speaker 03

  Complainer.

• 57:33Will Arnett?

  He's a terrible guy.

• 57:35Speaker 03

  Look, I I I think with with Chris, you know, it's like I I I think with, you you know, I think I think you you get to see sometimes people doing like exactly what they're put on this earth to do. And that that's how I feel about Nolan. I mean, I think there's these stories. Again, you know, everybody kind of going in, oh, you have no idea how hard it's gonna be and how rigorous and how, you know, there's no and and for me, I'm like, let's fucking like, I love that. It's music to my ears. There's nobody who's working harder on that set than he is. And the directors that I've gotten to work with, you know, like, Denis, you know, Scorsese or Polanski or uh, you know, Derek, I mean, there there's there's so many of them. You know, they're all so enormously different, but the thing that.

• 58:21Speaker 03

  I feel like he's uniform among all the greats for me. I don't know if you guys feel this way, but you know, they've done so much work. They know it so intimately well. But there's really an atmosphere of exploration and and freedom once you get to work. And I I I find no bigger sort of telltale sign of mediocrity than people who it it has to be a a certain way. And I couldn't believe that within this unbelievable structure and and this this unbelievable understanding of exactly what he wanted. You know, he's still both inspired and and and not just allowed, but demanded, you know, real freedom and creativity within every moment.

• 59:02Will Arnett?

  Like, yeah, do you find yourself like working with him in like and these huge pieces that you're doing? I mean, it's The Odyssey, for Christ's sake. And is it and and within that, there's like a spirit of like, hey, let's find it.

• 59:14Speaker 03

  Absolutely, absolutely. And and and, you know, I I think in these films, you know, I, you know, I did this movie Fury some years back. And I did I did the the the Pacific, which was sort of the next in the Band of Brothers. And, you know, there's these movies sometimes where there's a group of guys and you're all just sort of like slogging it out together for the thing. And you forge these unbelievable relationships. You know, and there is a group of there's a group of men in this movie that, you know, were Odysseus' men, were Matt Damon's men. And it was this group of actors, you know, they did eight months in like eight different countries, worked so incredibly hard. And, you know, what was cool is, you know, I I was only on the movie for a couple of months.

• 59:58Speaker 03

  And but but I got to really be a part of that group for the time that I was there. And that was such a blessing for me. I I think that, you know, the best thing that this offers, this life, is the people that you meet along the way and and the relationships that you get. That's what you're gonna die with. And and I was so honored to be a part of that group of Odysseus' men. And and and that I felt just a taste of what, you know, the real long, hard slog, the adventure was. And, you know, that that that's my big take. That's What I'm most grateful for.

• 1:00:32Will Arnett?

  That's great. And then, and then I mentioned, yeah, and then you, and then Spider-Man with, with Tom Holland, the great Tom Holland.

• 1:00:39Speaker 03

  I love Tom. I mean, look, you know, like I got to, you know, I have a Punisher special that I wrote that's coming out next week that I'm really excited about. And then, and then I'm also doing the Punisher in Spider-Man. And, you know, with Tom, because Tom was in The Odyssey as well, you know, I've known Tom since he was 17. We did a movie in Ireland together. I made his Spider-Man audition tape and he made my Punisher audition tape.

• 1:01:02Will Arnett?

  No way.

• 1:01:04Speaker 03

  Yeah. And I gotta tell you, man, like this fucking kid, when he was 17 years old, and they're like, everyone was auditioning for Spider-Man. This dude, he was like, I'm gonna get like, I am Spider-Man. And I was like, look dude, like mathematically, I just gotta be honest, like, I don't know. But like, he had such unbelievable conviction and belief. And he's so fucking talented, but beyond all of it, like there is not, there is not a better guy. Like he was raised so well. I love his family. I love his, his, his better half. I, I, I'm so proud of the man and the movie star and the, the, the human ambassador

• 1:01:46Speaker 03

  that he's become. I love his relationship. He's really in love. They really have a great thing. I love them. And it's so cool for me, you know, now, you know, whatever it is, 10 years later to come back and, you know, I spent the whole, you know, we did two movies back to back with each other and I love this guy and, I couldn't be happier for him.

• 1:02:03Will Arnett?

  Oh, that's so good. Dude, well, we, we couldn't be happier for you, man. I mean, you're just such a, you're so great. And like JB was saying, you're such a great communicator. It's, it's just awesome to listen to you. Talking about stuff.

• 1:02:16Jason Bateman?

  So happy to have met you here.

• 1:02:17Will Arnett?

  I know, man. Me too. Your energy is, is just sick. And, and,

• 1:02:22Speaker 03

  Thanks, guys.

• 1:02:23Will Arnett?

  You've got so much going on. You've got, you've got Spider-Man Brand New Day comes July 31st. You've got The Odyssey opens June 17th. And of course, Dog Day Afternoon on Broadway.

• 1:02:32Speaker 03

  So congratulations.

• 1:02:34Will Arnett?

  It's just, it's just such a joy. Yeah.

• 1:02:35Jason Bateman?

  John, see if you can find a work ethic before we see you again.

• 1:02:41Sean Hayes?

  I was gonna ask you for a theater story, but next time, I would love to hear just a tragic theater story. I have, I have tons of them.

• 1:02:49Speaker 03

  Me too.

• 1:02:49Sean Hayes?

  They always make me laugh really hard.

• 1:02:51Will Arnett?

  Well, we're gonna see you backstage. I'm gonna drag Jason backstage and we're gonna come back and say hi.

• 1:02:56Jason Bateman?

  Get your ass out here, Willie, and drag me out of this apartment.

• 1:02:59Will Arnett?

  I'm gonna come in a couple of weeks. Let's go see it. The great Jon Bernthal. Jon, thanks for joining us, dude.

• 1:03:04Speaker 03

  It's such an honor, guys. Thank you so much. I appreciate you guys.

• 1:03:07Jason Bateman?

  Nice to meet you, buddy. See you soon.

• 1:03:09Speaker 03

  See you, guys. Have a wonderful night. Thanks for having me, guys.

• 1:03:12Sean Hayes?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 1:03:12Jason Bateman?

  Bye, buddy.

• 1:03:13Speaker 03

  Bye-bye.

• 1:03:16Jason Bateman?

  This guy, you know, what a guest.

• 1:03:18Sean Hayes?

  You know what I find, but he was great, Will.

• 1:03:21Jason Bateman?

  I think I'm gonna put him, I'm gonna put him on the list with Alicia Keys, Lionel Richie, Jon Bernthal.

• 1:03:28Will Arnett?

  For your, for favorites?

• 1:03:29Jason Bateman?

  My three favorite guests.

• 1:03:30Will Arnett?

  Yep. I agree, man. He's unbelievable.

• 1:03:33Jason Bateman?

  Or I should say, instead of not favorite guests, favorite interviews, right? So we don't offend some of the people that are my, you know, some of my favorite people.

• 1:03:40Will Arnett?

  Amongst your favorites?

• 1:03:41Jason Bateman?

  Amongst my favorites. Thank you.

• 1:03:43Sean Hayes?

  Yeah, there you go. You know, though, to be, and I really mean this, and this goes for you guys too, I think you have to be... No, I think you, no, it's a big compliment. I think you have to be super, super, super fucking smart like he is and like both of you are to be talented. To be that talented. You have, I don't know that dummies are talented.

• 1:04:05Jason Bateman?

  I've, I've met a couple, but, but, but, but true, you're, you're right.

• 1:04:11Sean Hayes?

  Do you know what I mean?

• 1:04:12Jason Bateman?

  Yeah, without the, um, yeah, yeah, but I mean, there's all kinds of different talent though, too, right? I mean, you know, I, I, I think it's clear that he's drawing on his checkered past when he's playing these incredibly complex characters and tapping into stuff he knows, yeah.

• 1:04:31Will Arnett?

  JB, JB and Sean, I, I, please, go watch We Own This City. It's on HBO.

• 1:04:36Sean Hayes?

  Yeah, for sure.

• 1:04:37Will Arnett?

  You're in New York for the next little while. You got time at night. Watch it. An episode a night. It's not very, it's so, it's so good. I'm like, I found it, his portrayal to be astonishing. Like, it's, it's really, it's really something.

• 1:04:48Sean Hayes?

  I love that. And you know, all the stuff that he's doing in Ojai? Which is, you know, there's a, there's a neighboring town just outside of it.

• 1:04:57Will Arnett?

  When you walk in, it's Ojai, and then when you leave, it's...

• 1:05:00Sean Hayes?

  Ojai!

• 1:05:11Speaker 06

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• 1:05:16Will Arnett?

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• 1:05:29Speaker 06

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