John Goodman

John Goodman is a national treasure. On his first visit to the podcast, John and Josh cover his storied career, from ROSEANNE to RAISING ARIZONA and everything in between. John speaks openly about how criticism for his latest film, DIGGER, hurt, what iconic moment from THE BIG LEBOWSKI was his idea, and the moment he knew SPEED RACER wouldn’t connect with audiences. Plus, his thoughts on why ROSEANNE clicked with tv audiences, why he won’t watch BRINGING OUT THE DEAD, and more. UPCOMING EVENTS! November 11th -- Anthony Mackie & Jamie Dornan -- tickets here: https://www.92ny.org/event/apple-tv-s-12-12-12 November 15th -- Rob Lowe -- tickets here: https://www.92ny.org/event/rob-lowe-the-outsider December 6th -- Tom Hiddleston & Hayley Atwell -- tickets here: https://www.92ny.org/event/much-ado-about-nothing December 8th -- David Corenswet -- tickets here: https://www.92ny.org/event/mr-irrelevant SUPPORT THE SHOW BY SUPPORTING OUR SPONSORS! Rula -- Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at ⁠⁠https://www.rula.com/happy⁠⁠ ⁠⁠#rulapod⁠⁠ Quince -- Go to ⁠Quince.com/HAPPYSAD ⁠for free shipping and 365-day returns. Limited Time Offer–Get Huel today with my exclusive offer of 15% OFF online with my code happy15 at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://huel.com/happy15.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ New Customers Only. Thank you to Huel for partnering and supporting our show! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

• 0:00Speaker 00

  Get this. When you're with Xfinity, you're already a member. No sign up, no cost. Score epic experiences from our family at NBC Universal. Plus movie tickets, discounts on streaming, mobile, and more. Check the Xfinity app every Thursday for exclusive perks and experiences. Only with Xfinity. Now that's the way to start a weekend. Let the magic begin. Restrictions apply. Visit Xfinity.com/membership to learn more.

• 0:30Speaker 01

  Welcome to the 50th Hunger Games. Witness the beginning of the revolution.

• 0:34Speaker 02

  Hey Mitch, you've been trying to take down these games from Star.

• 0:37Speaker 01

  Film for IMAX.

• 0:38Speaker 02

  Make them remember you.

• 0:41Speaker 01

  The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Weeping, November 20th, rated PG-13.

• 0:45Josh Horowitz?

  I've always been fascinated, these famous like TV edits of films. You know what I'm gonna say? How did "You see what happens when you [bleep] a stranger in the [bleep]" become "You see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?"

• 0:58Speaker 04

  Yeah, Joel, or no, Ethan said, "Say whatever you want."

• 1:01Josh Horowitz?

  So this is, so you had, so you had to re-record it?

• 1:03Speaker 04

  So I just came up with that.

• 1:04Josh Horowitz?

  You came up with it?

• 1:04Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 1:05Josh Horowitz?

  We got Stranger in the Alps from you?

• 1:06Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 1:07Josh Horowitz?

  Thank you.

• 1:08Speaker 04

  Thank you.

• 1:11Speaker 04

  Yodeling John Goodman. Friend of strangers.

• 1:16Speaker 05

  Prepare your ears, humans. Happy, sad, confused begins.

• 1:23Josh Horowitz?

  Hey guys, it's Josh. Welcome to another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. Today on the show, one of the best. John Goodman is here for his first appearance on the podcast. It's been a long time coming. It was worth the wait. Okay, John Goodman, what can we say? He is starring, of course, in the new film, Digger. Very controversial. People love it, people hate it. Whatever you have to say about it, people are talking. We talk about that, but we also talk about his entire career, guys. Roseanne, the Flintstones, Big Lebowski, Ten Cloverfield, Lane. The list goes on and on and on. He is truly one of the great character actors, I think, of our time. And he was willing to dig into all of it with me today. He doesn't do a lot of long-form conversations, so I was so, so honored. He agreed to this one. He's exactly what you hope he would be. It's a special one, honestly.

• 2:08Josh Horowitz?

  I mean, I grew up with especially the Coen Brothers movies. Absolutely worship John Goodman. He's amazing in Raising Arizona, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?, Barton Fink, and of course, Lebowski. And we cover all of those to different degrees in this one. But he's got all the stories to tell. He's honest about, you know, dealing with his sobriety the last couple decades, going through that and weight loss and all the personal changes that come with growing older. Just a good, good dude and a great actor, so I'm thrilled this one happened. Remember, as always, if you enjoy what I do on Happy, Sad, Confused, support us over on our Patreon, patreon.com/happysadconfused. Early access to every single episode of Happy, Sad, Confused and bonus materials, access to our live events, and so much more. Again, that's patreon.com/happysadconfused.

• 2:53Josh Horowitz?

  Okay, you don't want to hear from me, you want to hear from John Goodman. I want to hear from John Goodman. Here we go. The main event, one of our greats, me and John Goodman. Enjoy. Well, we're off and running. John Goodman, I'm doing something right on this podcast. You're on Happy, Sad, Confused. Thank you for your time, sir.

• 3:07Speaker 04

  Thank you for having me.

• 3:09Josh Horowitz?

  This is very meaningful for me.

• 3:10Speaker 04

  They dusted off the dustbin and pulled me out.

• 3:13Josh Horowitz?

  Please. What level of gushing do you want for the next 45 minutes?

• 3:16Speaker 04

  None, none.

• 3:17Josh Horowitz?

  Zero?

• 3:18Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 3:20Josh Horowitz?

  You're just so inured to it. You can't take it in.

• 3:22Speaker 04

  No, I do. It makes me uncomfortable.

• 3:24Josh Horowitz?

  Okay, we won't do that. I'm not much of a fan of your work, though. Not really. Very casual. Have you, what have you done in your life, by the way?

• 3:30Speaker 04

  Loitered.

• 3:31Josh Horowitz?

  One of the best at it, though.

• 3:32Speaker 04

  With intent.

• 3:35Josh Horowitz?

  Gonna serve you as summons by the end of this. Hey, congratulations on Digger, sir. This movie has made quite an impact. People are talking.

• 3:43Speaker 04

  People are talking.

• 3:44Josh Horowitz?

  Do you feel it?

• 3:45Speaker 04

  Yeah, it, uh, it hurt.

• 3:49Josh Horowitz?

  Seriously?

• 3:49Speaker 04

  Yeah, uh, they kinda killed us before we opened. This will only make $5. And it's a good reason for people to avoid it. I'm proud of it, and I had a ball doing it. It was, you know, a good six months out of my life.

• 4:06Josh Horowitz?

  It's a giant swing. Come on, guys.

• 4:07Speaker 04

  It is a huge swing.

• 4:09Josh Horowitz?

  Like, Inaritu does not go small. Tom doesn't do anything half-assed. It's all on the screen.

• 4:14Speaker 04

  It's, it's gonna be around for a long time.

• 4:17Josh Horowitz?

  It will. No, I'm honestly, like, I'm watching it in real time, like everybody. Like, we're taping this just after opening weekend. And I'm feeling already like the turn back critically of like people defending it after the box office wasn't great, obviously. We can be open and honest about that. But it does feel like there's something sticky about this movie because it's, it's touching a nerve, clearly, with some people.

• 4:38Speaker 04

  Well, it should be.

• 4:39Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 4:40Speaker 04

  And, you know, I'm a big hypocrite for saying that because I like my big engine car. But, uh, it's a nice wake-up call.

• 4:51Speaker 04

  And yeah, I started to read a review in the New Yorker today. It's, I'm kinda trying to toughen myself up, and it was actually a great review.

• 5:01Josh Horowitz?

  Do you generally have a good instinct for how your films are gonna be received?

• 5:04Speaker 04

  Absolutely not.

• 5:05Josh Horowitz?

  None?

• 5:06Speaker 04

  No.

• 5:06Josh Horowitz?

  It doesn't get easier as the years go?

• 5:07Speaker 04

  Everything, you know, I, I think everything I've done for the Coen Brothers flopped initially.

• 5:14Josh Horowitz?

  Right.

• 5:15Speaker 04

  So who cares, man? I still got people running up to me in the streets about Barton Fink and naturally Lebowski.

• 5:23Josh Horowitz?

  I'll show you a life of the mind.

• 5:24Speaker 04

  I'll show you a life. No, I'll show you. I'll show you.

• 5:29Josh Horowitz?

  But it's true. I mean, I was thinking the same exact thing. I mean, in your career, and it's not unique for any performer, like, yeah, Lebowski, even Speed Racer, these are films that have been reappraised and now worshipped by...

• 5:40Speaker 04

  I wanna see Speed Racer again. It's hallucinogenic, man.

• 5:45Josh Horowitz?

  Do you remember seeing, I mean, that experience must have been remarkable, working with the Wachowskis and like, living in that bizarreness?

• 5:52Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 5:54Josh Horowitz?

  Did you take to it?

• 5:55Speaker 04

  I'll be honest with you, it's right before I crashed.

• 5:57Josh Horowitz?

  Oh, this was the downtime, yeah.

• 5:59Speaker 04

  The Alki Hall. And, uh, yeah, I was, uh,

• 6:04Speaker 04

  I was, I was professional, but that's it, you know? It's, uh, but I had a ball making it.

• 6:12Josh Horowitz?

  It's tinged with that, then. So you see it and the memory is tied to that stuff.

• 6:15Speaker 04

  Yeah, but I had a ball making it. At, uh, Bao Berlin, some city. And, yeah, that was one, we went to the New York Film Festival with it. And I'd seen it before, so I went around to different parts of the audience and I went, uh-oh.

• 6:34Josh Horowitz?

  Oh, really?

• 6:34Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 6:35Josh Horowitz?

  You felt it?

• 6:36Speaker 04

  They weren't as enamored with it as I was. But, uh, yeah, I wanna see it again.

• 6:41Josh Horowitz?

  Does, okay, so back to the broader question about sort of reception. Like, does external, I would hope that external validation means less as we go on in our lives. Are you still tied to critics and commercial reception in terms of how you interpret your own experience?

• 6:56Speaker 04

  Unfortunately, I have to say that I am, to be very honest. And I used to be less so.

• 7:03Josh Horowitz?

  Oh, it's getting the other direction?

• 7:04Speaker 04

  Yeah, maybe when I'm getting old and pathetic, I go, oh, don't hit me again.

• 7:09Josh Horowitz?

  Be nice.

• 7:10Speaker 04

  I just put so much into this film and, yeah, there you go. But I'm over it now. When, like I say, I'm proud, proud I did it.

• 7:21Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah, as you should be. Okay, so talk to me a little bit about jumping into this. So Inaritu, I mean, he exudes passion on the screen and off the screen. Is this, is this just a conversation with him? Does a script arrive? Does Tom reach out with his minions? Like, what happens?

• 7:37Speaker 04

  He got, I got a call, uh, meet me at a coffee shop in Santa Monica. I did that, we talked.

• 7:44Josh Horowitz?

  Is this Inaritu or is this Tom?

• 7:45Speaker 04

  Inaritu.

• 7:46Josh Horowitz?

  Okay, yeah.

• 7:47Speaker 04

  Yeah, and Alejandro gave me the script. I read it. I was in. Yeah, I really liked it. And I laughed out loud and it was full of twists that I didn't see coming.

• 7:58Josh Horowitz?

  None of us did.

• 7:59Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 8:01Josh Horowitz?

  Is it self-evident because like, you know, you're going big in this? And it's like, I mean, that's what, that's what the material demands. I mean, is that self-evident on the page or is that from a conversation with Inaritu?

• 8:11Speaker 04

  Well, I got all acy with it. And we hammered it for about two weeks. Finally got to where he wanted to lay it down, and then I slipped and fell. And I was out for a month.

• 8:27Josh Horowitz?

  Shit.

• 8:27Speaker 04

  Yeah, I, I was skating around the floor in my, my stocking feet and I just went parallel to the ground and eventually came down and broke a hip.

• 8:39Josh Horowitz?

  You knew immediately something that you felt?

• 8:41Speaker 04

  I couldn't get up.

• 8:43Josh Horowitz?

  And this is in pre-production or you're already in production?

• 8:45Speaker 04

  We were.

• 8:49Speaker 04

  Probably a month, six weeks away from wrapping, but they got all, a lot of other stuff with Riz. It took a month to get back on my feet and I had some great help in rehab and finished it.

• 9:09Josh Horowitz?

  How much of it is, I mean, there's so much, from my end, there's so much curiosity of Tom. Tom is this endless like fascination point for all of us as film fans. He's the Energizer Bunny. He just keeps going. Was part of like the intrigue of this of us also kind of seeing up close, like what's this guy all about?

• 9:25Speaker 04

  And you know, I never thought of it on, until I, I met him and we started jumping into it, which is how he prefers to do things.

• 9:34Josh Horowitz?

  Mm-hmm.

• 9:35Speaker 04

  And he was a spark plug. I mean, he kept me going and a cheerleader on set and aren't we lucky to be here doing this? And yeah, we are.

• 9:45Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 9:46Speaker 04

  Even though I'm tired. Yeah. But yeah, he really kept us going. He was in makeup all the time.

• 9:54Josh Horowitz?

  Have you gotten the cruise cake yet? Are you on the list officially, John?

• 9:58Speaker 04

  Yep.

• 9:59Josh Horowitz?

  Congratulations.

• 10:00Speaker 04

  Yeah, I've gotten two so far.

• 10:01Josh Horowitz?

  Two?

• 10:02Speaker 04

  Yeah. And it was weird. We started talking initially and the only time I'd met him before was 30 plus years ago at a party at Bruce Willis's house in Malibu.

• 10:16Josh Horowitz?

  Sure.

• 10:17Speaker 04

  And I didn't fit in. I mean, I just, I just felt out of place, but he remembers saying hi to me 30 something years ago.

• 10:26Josh Horowitz?

  Oh, that does not surprise me. He's that guy.

• 10:28Speaker 04

  There's no way you remember that. And we were talking about who was there, so he wasn't lying to me.

• 10:31Josh Horowitz?

  No, he's presidential in that way, ironically, given your role. He's, he kind of, he locks in.

• 10:37Speaker 04

  Oh, yeah.

• 10:38Josh Horowitz?

  It's all there.

• 10:39Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 10:40Josh Horowitz?

  Which is, makes him a great actor, obviously. He's so present.

• 10:42Speaker 04

  He's, he's, I don't know what he has. It's, but there's only one of them.

• 10:49Josh Horowitz?

  There is.

• 10:50Speaker 04

  He acts like there's three or four of them, but there's only one of them. I don't know how, I don't know how he does it. It's amazing to watch.

• 10:58Josh Horowitz?

  We'll be right back with more Happy Sad Confused. If I had a dollar for everybody in my life who's benefited from therapy, I would be a very, very rich man. Therapy has certainly helped me, especially when I was a confused teenager and thankfully, that's not a shameful thing to say anymore, right? It's okay to seek help and need help and talk about it. We're all doing our best. We're just trying to get by, right, guys? Unfortunately, the reality is that getting help is still harder than it should be. That's why I'm thrilled always to have Rula as a sponsor of Happy Sad Confused, because it's very obvious to me that online therapy should be both accessible and affordable for everybody. So let's make it easy for anybody who wants help to get help.

• 11:42Josh Horowitz?

  That's where Rula comes in. Here's the thing, a lot of online therapy platforms don't actually talk about. Most don't take insurance. That means you're either paying out of pocket or signing up for some very expensive monthly subscription. Rula does it all differently. They work with over 120 insurance plans, so the average copay, I can't get over this, it's just 15 bucks a session. So basically two of your lattes, okay? A pretty good deal if you ask me. That means you can get real therapy from a licensed professional without breaking the bank. And Rula doesn't just set you up and leave you alone. They give you that therapist and then they're along the way, the whole journey with you to make sure your care is working for you and you're actually making progress, hitting your goals. This can all happen right away, guys.

• 12:26Josh Horowitz?

  With Rula, appointments are often available as soon as tomorrow. There are no wait lists. There's no frustrating back and forth. They make it easy. Thousands of people are already using Rula to get affordable, high-quality therapy that's actually covered by insurance. Visit rula.com/happy to get started. That's rula, R-U-L-A dot com slash happy. You deserve mental health care that works with you, not against your budget. You guys know the best stuff in your closet is the stuff that you actually wear, right? The things that you just keep coming back to, whether you're going to work, you're going out, you're just hanging around. Well, with the holidays coming up, Quince makes it really easy to find great gifts for everyone on your list. This year, I'm doing a lot of my holiday shopping at Quince, and yes, that includes a few things for myself. That's okay, right?

• 13:10Josh Horowitz?

  One of the things I love about Quince is that you're getting really high-quality stuff without spending a fortune. Their cashmere sweaters start at just 60 bucks and they've got everything from great down jackets and wool coats, the cashmere scarves and accessories, basically everything you need to stay warm and look good this winter. And they're using really premium materials at Quince. We're talking at 100% Mongolian cashmere, Italian leather, even 14-karat gold. These are the kinds of things that make great gifts, but also that make people actually use them, right? And wear long after the holidays. And here's the best part, Quince prices everything 50 to 80% less than similar brands. How do they do it? Well, they work directly with ethical factories and they cut out the middlemen.

• 13:51Josh Horowitz?

  So you're getting that luxury quality without paying those crazy luxury prices. I love how functional and fashionable all my Quince stuff is. I've got a cashmere hoodie that is honestly invaluable and actually makes me look like I know what I'm talking about when it comes to fashion, and that is a miracle. So give the gift of quality this holiday season. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers or go to quince.com. Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. It's now available in Canada and the UK too. And when Quince asks where you've heard about them, you know what to do. Let them know it was Happy Sad Confused. That's the best way to support our show. All right. So you, you gave me a good segue.

• 14:34Josh Horowitz?

  You mentioned Bruce Willis and I was saying when you sat down here, I've read a lot about your exploits back in New York City when you first moved here, and that's tied a little bit to Bruce, as I understand it, right? You, so there's, there's this famous place that keeps coming up, Cafe Central?

• 14:48Speaker 04

  Cafe Central, 74 in Amsterdam.

• 14:50Josh Horowitz?

  74 in Amsterdam. So when you think back to that time.

• 14:53Speaker 04

  Or 75.

• 14:54Josh Horowitz?

  They won't sue you, don't worry. They're gone. It's out of business, I think. So when you think back to that time, do you think of like, was that just a hangout spot for you and your crew?

• 15:05Speaker 04

  It was a hangout spot. I, I got dumped by a girl in 78 and my evenings were free. And I was making some nice bank in the commercial industry. I really started, started scoring, so I had, I had some dough for once in my life. It was like the first money I had, so naturally I wasted it. I, yeah, when she dumped me, I started hanging out in Broadway places. Oh, yeah. Kevin Kline and Patricia Richardson took me up to Cafe Central. We were working on a show in 1979 and I stayed.

• 15:46Josh Horowitz?

  Do you romanticize?

• 15:47Speaker 04

  I overstated.

• 15:48Josh Horowitz?

  Do you romanticize those times? I mean, that's gotta be, that's your first brush of success and livelihood?

• 15:55Speaker 04

  Yeah, the success came a little later, but it was, I've met all these great actors that hung out there and we would just talk about acting. That's how I got to know Bruce. We'd, you know, talk about Three Students and then, you know, films we liked, performances we liked, actors, and he, he was, he was hot on the subject. He, he was in love with acting.

• 16:20Josh Horowitz?

  Amazing.

• 16:21Speaker 04

  And so was I, and we just hit it off. And when he made it, anytime I needed to be in Los Angeles, he'd, he'd put me up. And we had a great group of guys, a lot of fun.

• 16:35Josh Horowitz?

  There was a bit of symmetry, if I'm doing the timing right, because like Moonlighting is on the air towards the end of that run when Roseanne began, is that right?

• 16:43Speaker 04

  Yeah, I think we were leading to Moonlighting at one point and Bruce came over to hang out on this, in my dressing room one day and I surprised Roseanne. There was a reveal, it was supposed to be me in bed and she comes up and yanks the covers off, so I put Bruce in there. And I think they have it on film. It's pretty cool.

• 17:08Josh Horowitz?

  I miss Moonlighting. What a great show that was.

• 17:10Speaker 04

  It was a great show.

• 17:11Josh Horowitz?

  Unbelievable. Okay, so, so you moved to New York, as I understand it, what I've read is you come to New York, you start to do some commercial work, but you also go right back out to do some dinner theater?

• 17:19Speaker 04

  No, I, in order to, I couldn't get hired here, so I, I had to go out and do dinner theater. That was the first thing I did. I wasn't here a month and I got a job. And today is October 5th?

• 17:32Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 17:34Speaker 04

  I joined Equity 50 years ago. I got my Equity card 50 years ago.

• 17:38Josh Horowitz?

  To this day?

• 17:39Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 17:40Josh Horowitz?

  Happy 50.

• 17:41Speaker 04

  Yeah, I walked into an audition at, in the old days, I, I don't know if they still do it, but you had to, it was an Equity audition and if they were out of Equity people, they had to see non-Equity people and I got the job.

• 17:54Josh Horowitz?

  You remember the day? That's interesting.

• 17:57Speaker 04

  Well, I remember, I remember the day because it was around the time a friend of mine opened in Broadway and big, who Robert Bridegroom. And it was my mom's birthday, so I remember it, yeah.

• 18:10Josh Horowitz?

  Amazing. Speaking of your mom, was she worried about you in those early days? When did she stop worrying about John as a?

• 18:16Speaker 04

  Well, she never did, but I got to take care of her toward the end because she, she had a tough.

• 18:22Josh Horowitz?

  So for those that don't know, so like you, you lost your dad before you ever got a chance to know him?

• 18:27Speaker 04

  Yeah, I lost my dad a month before my second birthday and my sister was born in November of that year and mom didn't really have any skills. She took in the laundry, finally got a job in a drugstore, waitress in a barbecue joint. But yeah, she had, she had a tough time.

• 18:47Josh Horowitz?

  I would imagine that, I mean, hopefully we're all close to our moms, but that, that must have engendered a very, a close bond for you growing up because?

• 18:55Speaker 04

  Yeah. Oh, yeah. I mean, she was it. That's probably why I got to be an actor is just to get, get attention.

• 19:05Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 19:06Speaker 04

  Mommy.

• 19:07Josh Horowitz?

  You were.

• 19:09Speaker 04

  Look at me.

• 19:11Josh Horowitz?

  We're all trying, right?

• 19:15Speaker 04

  That's what I put on the wall, Ma.

• 19:18Josh Horowitz?

  You were class clown, but also the jock, a little bit of everything?

• 19:22Speaker 04

  Yeah, I wasn't very good at either, but I was more of a class clown than I was a jock, but I loved playing football. And I just loved being in a team. I loved to hit.

• 19:37Speaker 04

  But I was so slow.

• 19:41Speaker 04

  I was so slow. And then I got the big idea to try to walk on the football team at Southwest Missouri State University.

• 19:49Josh Horowitz?

  How'd that go?

• 19:50Speaker 04

  I didn't have the grades. I didn't have the grades. But a little later, I got into a one act play there. And that started a lot. That turned me around.

• 20:03Josh Horowitz?

  Did people immediately say, you've got something? Did you feel some validation?

• 20:07Speaker 04

  I did. I started, I didn't think, they had really good people there. And I'd see their shows. I'm not going to be able to do this. But slowly but surely, it just got some confidence. And

• 20:25Speaker 04

  that's all I cared about. That's all I cared about. And with that, well, you have to learn English. You have to look at art. You have to listen to music. You have to watch ballet. Everything. Then I started getting hungry for knowledge. Before, I was just loitering.

• 20:42Josh Horowitz?

  So you were, within time, were you, were you a big, like, film lover, TV, comic books, a little bit of everything growing up?

• 20:50Speaker 04

  A little bit of everything. But when I saw Marlon Brando, that smacked me in the head, woke me up. And I was still in high school. A friend of mine and I used to do lines from On the Waterfront constantly.

• 21:03Josh Horowitz?

  Ever meet him?

• 21:05Speaker 04

  No. I'm kind of glad. But they always said, don't meet your heroes.

• 21:11Josh Horowitz?

  He seemed to lose.

• 21:12Speaker 04

  When I met Pacino, I was blown away at what a great guy he was.

• 21:16Josh Horowitz?

  It seems like Marlon lost the love for it sadly, by all accounts.

• 21:19Speaker 04

  Yes. It was either too easy.

• 21:24Speaker 04

  I don't know.

• 21:25Josh Horowitz?

  Well, we don't know. But we do know Al, who you've worked with a few times. The fire is still there.

• 21:30Speaker 04

  Yeah. And I haven't seen him for a while, but he,

• 21:35Speaker 04

  you know, I idolized him. And then I got a chance to be in a film with him. And

• 21:42Josh Horowitz?

  Was it Sea of Love? Was that the first one?

• 21:43Speaker 04

  I just opened my eyes and ears and just watched him.

• 21:46Josh Horowitz?

  Was that Sea of Love, the first time?

• 21:47Speaker 04

  Sea of Love, yeah.

• 21:48Josh Horowitz?

  That's a good movie, too.

• 21:49Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 21:49Josh Horowitz?

  That's a pretty early film for you, I would, by doing the math, right?

• 21:52Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 21:53Josh Horowitz?

  True stories had happened.

• 21:54Speaker 04

  True stories. Yeah, I got three in a row. I was doing Big River on Broadway. And I got asked to audition for David Byrne. Then I got The Big Easy.

• 22:06Josh Horowitz?

  Right.

• 22:06Speaker 04

  And then right after that was Big, or

• 22:09Josh Horowitz?

  Raising Arizona.

• 22:09Speaker 04

  Raising Arizona, yeah. And then I started doing about two or three movies a year.

• 22:15Josh Horowitz?

  So Raising Arizona, we could talk for hours. I'm obsessed with that movie, as any film lover should be. It's amazing. Only their second film, I think, at the time, coming off of Blood Simple. As I understand it, you guys click immediately, there's something in the room, or whether it's even about the material, you're just vibing, correct?

• 22:32Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 22:33Josh Horowitz?

  I mean, when you think back to that, I think of so many iconic moments. I think of you, like, literally coming out of the mud, essentially giving birth to John Goodman, essentially. Do you remember that screaming into the heavens, coming out of?

• 22:46Speaker 04

  Yeah, I do. They told me what they wanted, you know, the big baby wine.

• 22:53Speaker 04

  I thought, how many times, sir?

• 22:56Speaker 04

  And we went up into a field, I think there was a sewage project place that stood in for the prison. And popped out of that hole, I was freezing, and I was having the time of my life. I used to go to set on my off days, just to hang around and goof around with those guys.

• 23:16Josh Horowitz?

  I mean, everything in that film. I was rewatching this morning, the scene where you and Bill Forsyth come, Holly and Nick, after you've escaped. I don't have a question, except to say, it's just genius. Everything in that scene, the interaction, Nick is amazing in it. Holly needles to say.

• 23:32Speaker 04

  You mind if I go out with the boys, have a couple of Coca Colas?

• 23:38Speaker 04

  Hey, who's wearing the pants here?

• 23:41Josh Horowitz?

  Exactly, lean in, the little lean in.

• 23:45Josh Horowitz?

  Perfect.

• 23:53Speaker 00

  Get this. When you're with Xfinity, you're already a member. No sign up, no cost. Score epic experiences from our family at NBC Universal. Plus movie tickets, discounts on streaming, mobile, and more. Check the Xfinity app every Thursday for exclusive perks and experiences, only with Xfinity. Now that's the way to start a weekend. Let the magic begin. Restrictions apply. Visit Xfinity.com/membership to learn more.

• 24:22Speaker 01

  Welcome to the 50th Hunger Games. Witness the beginning of the revolution.

• 24:27Speaker 02

  Hey Mitch, you've been trying to take down these games from the start.

• 24:30Speaker 01

  Film for IMAX.

• 24:31Speaker 02

  Make them remember you.

• 24:34Speaker 01

  The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, November 20th, rated PG-13.

• 24:41Josh Horowitz?

  So Roseanne happens around this time, which somehow doesn't take you off the board of movies. Like, this is unusual. Like,

• 24:48Speaker 04

  I was doing, in between, on the summer break, I wound up doing two films a year.

• 24:56Josh Horowitz?

  So how did, that wasn't the norm back then, I feel. Like, people were either TV or film. They weren't going back and forth. Was that just like you were fitting, like, I don't know, casting directors loved you, the film work was taking off in its own right? Was it difficult to find that balance, those years on Roseanne, to do all the film work?

• 25:13Speaker 04

  No. I fit right in. I don't know how the hell I did it, because thinking about it makes me exhausted now.

• 25:20Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 25:21Speaker 04

  But I did. And

• 25:25Speaker 04

  those were great days.

• 25:27Josh Horowitz?

  So, you've, the gift of Roseanne and Dan Connor, I mean, that's already been one of the great gifts of your career, I would say.

• 25:35Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 25:35Josh Horowitz?

  I mean, nearly 40 years of work on and off as Dan. Is that something that, like, I know you talked even from the early days, like, you weren't representing every blue collar man. You were just playing a guy, like, this specific guy.

• 25:49Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 25:50Josh Horowitz?

  But over the decades, he kind of also did come to represent that to some people, I think.

• 25:55Speaker 04

  A lot of the television, at that time, the hits were wealth porn, like Dallas and Dynasty. And we were kind of the anti that. And Rose came up with this idea. She said, you know, just because we're poor, doesn't make us stupid.

• 26:11Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 26:12Speaker 04

  And the family got by with little money and a lot of laughs. That's how, that's how we coped.

• 26:18Josh Horowitz?

  Did you feel, I got a chance to talk to Laurie Metcalf this past year, I mean, one of the greats, one of the all timers.

• 26:26Speaker 04

  She's just

• 26:27Josh Horowitz?

  And to see what she's now become. I mean, she, early on, obviously, she first love was theater, but now that she's kind of come back around and acknowledged.

• 26:33Speaker 04

  Apparently, she got up here with Steppenwolf and did an amazing monologue in a Lanford Wilson play that I wish I would have seen.

• 26:42Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 26:45Speaker 04

  But

• 26:46Josh Horowitz?

  But having her as a cohort back then, someone with theater chops, just like yourself, that must have been meaningful.

• 26:52Speaker 04

  It was. And just to be around her and watch her work, her choices, that's never going to work. Yeah, it is. She'd just walk around with a script and come, she'd come up from outer space. She would swing big. And she always backed it up with truth. And it always worked. She's an amazing woman and an amazing actress.

• 27:18Josh Horowitz?

  Do you feel, did you feel, I mean, there's nothing, you can't compare, I feel, like, TV stardom versus film stardom. There's something about having people, having you in that box in their bedroom with you. And you have been in that box for nearly 40 years. Like, do you feel a different, is there a different level of connection through the Dan character than any other character you think that you've played?

• 27:37Speaker 04

  Just because it was on once a week for a long time, 10 years. And people

• 27:47Speaker 04

  thought that was me. And, well, great, he's a great guy. And that's how, it was just constantly there.

• 27:54Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 27:55Speaker 04

  And if it wasn't the show, it was promos for the show.

• 27:57Josh Horowitz?

  Right.

• 28:02Josh Horowitz?

  It's interesting. So we're obviously not going to be able to cover all of your credits, but I want you to jump around a little bit. I would think, like, a big moment, and maybe this is a silly movie to talk about or not, but like, King Ralph is an opportunity to be the leading guy. Like, was that a meaningful thing for you as an actor then, to get the lead in a film?

• 28:17Speaker 04

  You know what? I didn't even think about it. Because I just thought I was like a character actor. And this is a character. But that was Mr. Peter O'Toole.

• 28:29Josh Horowitz?

  Come on.

• 28:34Josh Horowitz?

  Did he live up to the hype? Was he?

• 28:35Speaker 04

  He was lovely. Not so lovely with other people sometimes, but

• 28:40Josh Horowitz?

  A little prickly. But I heard you say he wasn't drinking at the time.

• 28:43Speaker 04

  No, he wasn't.

• 28:44Josh Horowitz?

  Notoriously, he was a, he had some issues with alcohol.

• 28:46Speaker 04

  Yeah, he was in a custody battle over his son, Lorcan. So he wasn't touching it.

• 28:53Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 28:53Speaker 04

  But he'd take me around to different places that were important to him. And there were photographs on the wall of Burton and Liz Taylor in these places. But just so smart and in touch with everything. And, you know, brilliant technician. But he had the heart of a lion. And he's a brave man. And, God, he was funny.

• 29:22Josh Horowitz?

  That comic performance in, what, My Favorite Year?

• 29:24Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 29:25Josh Horowitz?

  Come on.

• 29:28Josh Horowitz?

  Amazing. I know you kind of had to be drag kicking and screaming into the Flintstones. Was that something that you got any enjoyment out of? Or was it like, once you were on set, you're like, oh, I realize why I didn't want to do this in the first place?

• 29:40Speaker 04

  I got to work with Rick Moranis, which was great.

• 29:42Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 29:45Speaker 04

  That was lovely. It was just a surprise. I was

• 29:51Speaker 04

  working, did a couple of films for Amblin, one for Steven. And I thought, well, young man, maybe you're on your way here. And we had the first reading for Always. And he said, ladies and gentlemen, I have just found my Fred Flintstone.

• 30:07Josh Horowitz?

  It's quite a negotiation.

• 30:08Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 30:12Josh Horowitz?

  Peer pressure.

• 30:13Speaker 04

  Yeah, it's not something I really wanted to do at the time. I'm ashamed to say that I should have been very grateful.

• 30:23Speaker 04

  But it just scared me. I, who knows why I'm a dope. Um, but yeah, at the time I wasn't crazy about it.

• 30:31Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 30:32Speaker 04

  But I did have fun.

• 30:33Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 30:34Speaker 04

  It make the big the best of it. Um, and I love working with Rick and Liz Perkins and Rosie. Uh, we had a good time.

• 30:42Josh Horowitz?

  For a certain generation of kids, it's probably, that's, that's a meaningful movie.

• 30:45Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 30:46Josh Horowitz?

  Right?

• 30:46Speaker 04

  And I wish I would have been a little more grateful.

• 30:48Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah. Well, I'm sure you're grateful for Big Lebowski. It probably comes up on a daily.

• 30:52Speaker 04

  Daily basis, yeah.

• 30:54Josh Horowitz?

  Right? Again, one that didn't necessarily hit the box office, uh, at the time, but kind of pretty quickly started to generate this love and now is just only built and built and built. What do you remember about reading Walter on the page for the first time?

• 31:10Speaker 04

  It was hysterical. The script was hysterical and it was all on the page.

• 31:16Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 31:16Speaker 04

  I, I didn't really have to lift a finger. It was, it was all there.

• 31:23Josh Horowitz?

  Can you explain something to me? I've always been fascinated, these famous like TV edits of films. You know what I'm gonna say? How did, you see what happens when you fuck a stranger in the ass become, you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?

• 31:37Speaker 04

  Yeah. Joel, or no, Eve said, say whatever you want.

• 31:40Josh Horowitz?

  So this is, so you got, so you.

• 31:41Speaker 04

  So I just came up with that.

• 31:43Josh Horowitz?

  You came up with it. You, we got Stranger in the Alps from you.

• 31:45Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 31:46Josh Horowitz?

  Thank you.

• 31:47Speaker 04

  Thank you.

• 31:50Speaker 04

  Yodeling John Goodman, friend of strangers.

• 31:55Josh Horowitz?

  That's amazing. I mean, it's all arguably as good as the original line in some ways.

• 32:00Josh Horowitz?

  You should get a credit on that.

• 32:01Speaker 04

  That one, I didn't know they'd bought out the neighborhood.

• 32:05Josh Horowitz?

  Oh, when you're shooting in the streets?

• 32:06Speaker 04

  Yeah. And I go, God damn, it's three o'clock in the morning and I'm, I'm out here yelling all these obscenities and it, it really worried me. Um, until I got into it. I got to wreck a Corvette with a crowbar. What do you, what do you think?

• 32:19Josh Horowitz?

  This is why you got into acting, the first.

• 32:21Speaker 04

  Exactly.

• 32:23Josh Horowitz?

  But there must be like, I mean, that's the dream for any actors to feel just like totally free and trusting of a filmmaker. And that's must be what you feel every time you work with the cones.

• 32:31Speaker 04

  Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. They, it's like I said, it's all on the page. Um, they're, they're Midwestern wise guy. I'm a, I'm a Midwestern wise guy and there you have it.

• 32:45Josh Horowitz?

  Is there any, they've used you a lot, but they can't use you in every film. Is there ever anything like, oh, wait, I would have, that, that would have been good for me. Do you ever have that moment watching one of their films?

• 32:55Speaker 04

  No, cause they're all perfectly cast.

• 32:57Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah, they're really good though. Yeah.

• 33:00Speaker 04

  And, and, you know, watching when, when they get Steven Root doing something, he's amazing.

• 33:06Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 33:07Speaker 04

  And it's, it's fun to watch him with that dialogue.

• 33:10Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah. Um, here's one that I know you maybe don't have the affection for, cause again, it came maybe at a weird time was Bringing Out the Dead. Is that, is that fair to say?

• 33:18Speaker 04

  Yeah, that was, uh, I hate to say this, but it was, uh, at a really low point.

• 33:25Josh Horowitz?

  So this is Scorsese, it's Nick Cage.

• 33:27Speaker 04

  I, I, yeah, I just, uh, I, I don't know where I was. I was lost, but, um,

• 33:34Josh Horowitz?

  Related to the drinking at the time?

• 33:36Speaker 04

  Yeah. Well, that became more, I couldn't find a character.

• 33:41Speaker 04

  And it's a shame because we were riding around with Marty all, all night long and in ambulances and so such. Um, we'd go from six at night to six in the morning.

• 33:54Speaker 04

  My wife came up with my daughter to spend some time with me. She immediately got, I, I came home one morning and she was very ill. She had appendicitis.

• 34:05Speaker 04

  So we'd find a hospital for her. Uh, a friend of mine had to fly up a couple of days later to take care of my daughter.

• 34:14Speaker 04

  And so I'd shoot six o'clock at night, six in the morning. I'd go to the hospital, uh, and I just kind of started breaking down a little bit, but it, it was, uh,

• 34:27Speaker 04

  I just wasn't there for everybody and I, I hate that.

• 34:31Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah. Is that like, are you good at watching? Is that, would that be a tough one to watch?

• 34:36Speaker 04

  That would be a tough one to watch. Yeah.

• 34:38Josh Horowitz?

  Cause you'd see just you're not.

• 34:39Speaker 04

  Yeah, I just, yeah, I just wasn't up to snuff.

• 34:42Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah. Is that the, not to, I don't mean to dwell on the, the hard, the hard times for you, but was that the low point for you and kind of like managing the personal with your professional?

• 34:53Speaker 04

  It was, uh, the low point was it, when I was in Berlin for a long time. And when I came back, uh,

• 35:04Speaker 04

  I had to fix it.

• 35:05Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah. Does it feel, I mean, that's, that's a long time now. That's been a long time. So it must feel like, I don't know. Does it feel like a second chance at life?

• 35:14Speaker 04

  Yeah. I, I, when I look back, yeah, I, I was on my way out. Uh, you know, I'm weighing about 400 pounds and doing that too. Um,

• 35:27Josh Horowitz?

  Were you good at concealing it from people you were working with?

• 35:31Speaker 04

  I thought so. Well, vodka doesn't smell, but I would get lit and that they say that for a reason because my cheeks would glow red. So if you, you know, the makeup people could tell.

• 35:43Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah. Do you see it in, in actors you work with now? I mean, people are coping with all sorts of things. You must see it when someone else is dealing with it.

• 35:51Speaker 04

  I don't look for it.

• 35:52Josh Horowitz?

  No.

• 35:52Speaker 04

  Yeah. I just judge the work or don't really judge the work. I just watch the work.

• 35:57Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah. Yeah. Um, okay. So jumping back into chronology a little bit. Um, this is the weirdest segue from sobriety to Monsters, Inc., but here we are. Monsters, Inc., that again, what a gift that is. That's, is that something that's, I don't know, what, what place does that hold in your, in your life? Because I don't know how much time it's taken out of your life, but the, but the impact it's had on a generation is astounding.

• 36:22Speaker 04

  It's amazing, isn't it? Um, yeah, I, I'm Sully.

• 36:27Josh Horowitz?

  Always.

• 36:28Speaker 04

  For, people will introduce their kids to me that I'm Sully. Um,

• 36:34Josh Horowitz?

  Do the parents recognize the voice first or the kids recognize the voice?

• 36:37Speaker 04

  The parents usually.

• 36:38Josh Horowitz?

  Is that an awkward exchange then where you have to explain?

• 36:41Speaker 04

  No, I'm proud of that.

• 36:43Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 36:43Speaker 04

  Um, yeah, I started doing animated films for my daughter. Um, Steven Spielberg directed one called We're Back.

• 36:51Josh Horowitz?

  Okay.

• 36:51Speaker 04

  It, uh, I played a dinosaur in and he was in the room the whole time directing me, which was kind of cool.

• 36:59Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 37:00Speaker 04

  And I started doing, those I started doing for my daughter. When she got older, I bought all these Warner Brothers cartoons on a LaserDisc. And then, you know, she got into Disney stuff on her own. So she, and, and then we bonded over the Simpsons. Um, laughing at different things, I guess, but, uh, yeah, she loved the animation.

• 37:24Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah. Can I throw out one that's in more recent times that I love? Uh, I think you're amazing in Ten Cloverfield Lane. I think that's a really great performance. And then I thought Dan Trachtenberg did an amazing job.

• 37:35Speaker 04

  Yeah. It, that was fun.

• 37:38Josh Horowitz?

  Was that, what's the key to, to someone like Howard for you? Is it, is it, you know, you always hear about actors not, you know, you don't view yourself as the villain of the piece. You view yourself as.

• 37:47Speaker 04

  As a savior.

• 37:48Josh Horowitz?

  Exact, is that how you kind of viewed him?

• 37:49Speaker 04

  And, and kind of a creep.

• 37:51Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 37:51Speaker 04

  I mean, we don't know exactly, through the film, you, you're wondering about this guy. I mean, he, he comes off bad and then you find, well, maybe he's right. And in the end, he is right, but, uh,

• 38:08Speaker 04

  yeah, his, his pursuit of her got twisted.

• 38:11Josh Horowitz?

  Say the least.

• 38:12Speaker 04

  And wound up in the acid bath.

• 38:15Josh Horowitz?

  Got it coming. Ow.

• 38:18Josh Horowitz?

  Um, I was mentioning to you before, Danny McBride was here not that long ago, and that's, that's again, another fun, unexpected gift. Probably what? Six years of your life at least to working on gemstones.

• 38:29Speaker 04

  Yep.

• 38:29Josh Horowitz?

  Um, did you click with Danny immediately?

• 38:32Speaker 04

  Immediately. Well, that was another one. It's all in the script.

• 38:36Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 38:36Speaker 04

  Um, and Walton, I, I get to work, watch every day. He's an amazing actor and he's hysterical and really,

• 38:46Speaker 04

  that, maybe he is dangerous. I don't know, but you don't know what he's gonna do. There's a lot of good energy there.

• 38:51Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 38:52Speaker 04

  And he's hysterical. But yeah, the scripts with the cast, what's not to love? The area, uh, shot in South Carolina, Danny rented out a Sears, had a studio there, uh, one stop shop. Everything got done there.

• 39:11Speaker 04

  And it was just great fun.

• 39:13Josh Horowitz?

  Does quality of life of a production matter to you as much as the actual material nowadays?

• 39:18Speaker 04

  When I get older.

• 39:19Josh Horowitz?

  As it, I think it, it should.

• 39:21Speaker 04

  Yeah. I mean, yeah, I, I remember living out of a suitcase. I, I didn't care for it. Yeah. So.

• 39:27Josh Horowitz?

  There's a time and a place for that.

• 39:29Speaker 04

  When it got Roseanne, I said, well, you know, this is a good chance to stop living out of a suitcase.

• 39:33Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah. So the material wise though, for gemstones, I mean, there's some extreme stuff in there.

• 39:40Speaker 04

  Got it. Yeah.

• 39:41Josh Horowitz?

  Is there anything that you, you said, this might be too far? This is.

• 39:45Speaker 04

  Oh, yeah. There was one scene, uh,

• 39:53Speaker 04

  Yeah, I thought I was gonna have to be naked in it and I said, I don't know.

• 39:59Josh Horowitz?

  I'm good.

• 40:00Speaker 04

  My body's too messed up and losing all this weight. Uh, no, I'm not gonna.

• 40:07Speaker 04

  So, yeah.

• 40:07Josh Horowitz?

  That was the line of the set.

• 40:08Speaker 04

  We got it done, yeah.

• 40:09Josh Horowitz?

  We got it done. Is it strange for you, I wasn't gonna bring it up, but you've mentioned like, people talk about like your transformation and how you look different and like it must be weird like, I wouldn't enjoy people talking about my body out like as if it's just sort of something that's fair game.

• 40:23Speaker 04

  I just ignore it.

• 40:24Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 40:25Speaker 04

  You know, since I'm in this business, it is fair game, up to a point.

• 40:30Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 40:33Josh Horowitz?

  Goes with the lyrics.

• 40:34Speaker 04

  But yeah, I'm still trying to get used to my face.

• 40:37Josh Horowitz?

  Really?

• 40:37Speaker 04

  Yeah, it's weird. I think of myself as one way and then I look at myself, oh, wow.

• 40:44Josh Horowitz?

  Well, I think we're all locked into a certain version of ourselves at a certain time, right?

• 40:48Speaker 04

  Yeah, it's, uh, it, it, it's strange. It's fun to get used to. Yeah, that's a lot of stuff I'm getting used to.

• 40:55Josh Horowitz?

  Did, did, did your weight limit any opportunities, you think, at any time? Cause it feels like it did.

• 41:00Speaker 04

  Sure it did and a lot of it, I think, might have been self sabotage.

• 41:06Josh Horowitz?

  Really?

• 41:06Speaker 04

  Yeah, because I, when I got here, I was maybe two, two twenty-five. I was in good shape.

• 41:13Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 41:15Speaker 04

  I got to running every day for a while. You know, around those lovely piers that are big real estate now.

• 41:25Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 41:25Speaker 04

  On the west side. Like, yeah, go through Hell's Kitchen and go around the, uh, the piers, uh, look at, look at Jersey, which was always lit up like, uh, for autumn, putting on a show.

• 41:39Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 41:40Speaker 04

  It was beautiful.

• 41:40Josh Horowitz?

  But you're saying you, you went the other way in a way that like, oh, if I look like this, then there's a reason why I'm not getting X role like in my own brain?

• 41:49Speaker 04

  Not really. I was, I was working enough as I was.

• 41:52Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 41:53Speaker 04

  I, I wasn't crazy about it, but I wonder if I sabotaged myself.

• 41:57Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah. Luckily, you're still very much in demand. Not only do you have Digger.

• 42:02Speaker 04

  Suckers.

• 42:02Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 42:05Josh Horowitz?

  Good judges of acting ability. Uh, JT Molner, you shot with, The Skeletons.

• 42:09Speaker 04

  We had a great time.

• 42:10Josh Horowitz?

  You and Bree again, right?

• 42:11Speaker 04

  Yeah, a few weeks ago in Australia.

• 42:13Josh Horowitz?

  Good one.

• 42:13Speaker 04

  It was cold there.

• 42:15Josh Horowitz?

  You're still up for an adventure.

• 42:17Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 42:17Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 42:18Speaker 04

  Yeah, and they were great people.

• 42:19Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 42:20Speaker 04

  We had fun.

• 42:20Josh Horowitz?

  How was The Last of Us? I'm very curious about that.

• 42:23Speaker 04

  I don't know yet.

• 42:24Josh Horowitz?

  You haven't shot it yet?

• 42:25Speaker 04

  I don't. I think maybe not until January or something. I'm not sure.

• 42:29Josh Horowitz?

  Okay.

• 42:30Speaker 04

  I'm, I'm supposed to start, um, The Beast in Me.

• 42:34Josh Horowitz?

  Oh, great.

• 42:35Speaker 04

  Two.

• 42:36Josh Horowitz?

  Yes.

• 42:39Speaker 04

  That's in November.

• 42:40Josh Horowitz?

  We've got a full dance card.

• 42:41Speaker 04

  And it's, uh, around here in New York.

• 42:44Josh Horowitz?

  Right, right.

• 42:45Speaker 04

  I'll be back for a while.

• 42:46Josh Horowitz?

  Claire's a local, so yeah.

• 42:47Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 42:48Josh Horowitz?

  So, did you have to be educated on The Last of Us? Like, do you know about the game or the series prior to getting this offer?

• 42:53Speaker 04

  I didn't know the game. I, I just, uh, I'm ignorant, uh,

• 42:58Speaker 04

  computing and gamer skills. Uh, but the TV show sure knocked me out.

• 43:03Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah. You do know professional wrestlers, cause you just met John Cena.

• 43:05Speaker 04

  John Cena, what a great guy. Yeah, he's, he's got it. He's magnetic and that's something you can't fake.

• 43:13Josh Horowitz?

  Maybe this, this first meeting will lead to a collaboration. We never.

• 43:16Speaker 04

  Maybe. You're back in a squared circle again.

• 43:21Josh Horowitz?

  What's the deal breaker in a script now? You see a script, is there, is there something in there that immediately says, that's not for me?

• 43:28Speaker 04

  Not really.

• 43:29Josh Horowitz?

  Is there a kind?

• 43:30Speaker 04

  Like, don't know if I like it, maybe nudity.

• 43:33Josh Horowitz?

  I guess we found out.

• 43:33Speaker 04

  Yeah. That, that, yeah.

• 43:38Speaker 04

  Nobody wants that.

• 43:41Josh Horowitz?

  You know what we do want? We want you to be recognized for, with an Oscar nomination one of these days. I know that's awkward to talk about for you, but for us, it feels like it's way overdue. I don't know, what, does, does anything like that mean anything to you? You've obviously been acclaimed by actors and with awards in your life, but.

• 43:58Speaker 04

  By actors, it means more, um,

• 44:03Speaker 04

  to be thought well of by, by other actors and directors.

• 44:07Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 44:08Speaker 04

  Yeah, that's, that's the meaning. That's, that's where I get off and then the work itself.

• 44:13Josh Horowitz?

  You must feel that though on a set nowadays. I mean, having done it for a minute, like then the, the next generation, I would think they come to you and they say, they, they give you your, your props, right?

• 44:22Speaker 04

  Very nice, yeah. Most of it's like for Sully, but yeah, they're great.

• 44:26Josh Horowitz?

  You'd think whatever.

• 44:28Speaker 04

  Yeah. But yeah, I'm, uh, I gotta learn how to stop pushing myself so hard cause it's not that hard to give a performance. It's not as hard as I make it lately.

• 44:40Josh Horowitz?

  What do you mean by that?

• 44:41Speaker 04

  I don't know. I'm, I've been pushing myself too hard for, for a couple of years now. And I think maybe it's because I was so tired.

• 44:51Speaker 04

  I don't know, but yeah, I'm trying to take care of myself better, uh, except I get these jobs.

• 44:57Josh Horowitz?

  Everybody, stop giving John so much work.

• 44:59Speaker 04

  Please.

• 45:01Josh Horowitz?

  Okay, we're gonna end here and then I release you to the wild sir. The Happy Sad Confused profoundly random questions. Are you ready, John?

• 45:06Speaker 04

  Yep.

• 45:07Josh Horowitz?

  Dogs or cats?

• 45:11Josh Horowitz?

  Oh, you need the buzzer?

• 45:11Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 45:12Josh Horowitz?

  Dogs or cats?

• 45:13Speaker 04

  Dog. I don't dislike cats, but we've always had dogs.

• 45:18Josh Horowitz?

  I approve. I'm a dog guy. What do you collect, if anything?

• 45:22Speaker 04

  Unimportant.

• 45:22Josh Horowitz?

  No, not true.

• 45:25Speaker 04

  I don't.

• 45:26Josh Horowitz?

  Nothing.

• 45:26Speaker 04

  No, I had a good collection of harmonicas, but I stopped playing. I got really lazy. And plus I sucked.

• 45:33Josh Horowitz?

  No.

• 45:34Speaker 04

  It just sucked.

• 45:35Josh Horowitz?

  Impossible. Uh, well, I guess I got the answer to this. Favorite video game of all time? Doesn't sound like you have.

• 45:41Speaker 04

  I just, I, I never learned.

• 45:42Josh Horowitz?

  That's okay. It's okay.

• 45:44Speaker 04

  No.

• 45:45Josh Horowitz?

  Um, no, it's not. Uh, this is an important question. Dakota Johnson asked me this once. I apologize on her behalf and mine. Would you rather have a mouthful of bees or one bee in your butt, John Goodman?

• 45:58Speaker 04

  Just one in the heiny.

• 46:00Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah. That's, that's what I was expecting to hear.

• 46:02Speaker 04

  Do one, one stinger.

• 46:05Josh Horowitz?

  What's the wallpaper on your phone? The background on your phone?

• 46:08Speaker 04

  Oh, uh, um, Story Night.

• 46:10Josh Horowitz?

  Lovely.

• 46:12Josh Horowitz?

  Who's the last actor you were mistaken for?

• 46:15Speaker 04

  Oh, in the old days, it was, uh, always George.

• 46:20Josh Horowitz?

  George, oh, um, Zonda or?

• 46:22Speaker 04

  George Zonda and, um, George Wendt.

• 46:26Josh Horowitz?

  Sure.

• 46:28Speaker 04

  Yeah, and finally, after a while, I just say, yeah, thanks.

• 46:31Josh Horowitz?

  To people over.

• 46:31Speaker 04

  And Tom Arnold.

• 46:34Josh Horowitz?

  For George Wendt, did they ever go, Norm?

• 46:36Speaker 04

  Yeah, all the time.

• 46:37Josh Horowitz?

  Seriously?

• 46:38Speaker 04

  Yeah. Oh, you were, you were, finally, I just.

• 46:40Josh Horowitz?

  Just accepted.

• 46:41Speaker 04

  Tell me how great I am. I go, yeah, thanks. Thanks, pal.

• 46:47Speaker 04

  Yeah, George is such a great guy.

• 46:49Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 46:49Speaker 04

  And George Zonda is too.

• 46:51Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah, totally. Uh, worst noted director has ever given you?

• 46:56Speaker 04

  I don't know. I, I honestly don't know.

• 47:00Speaker 04

  Because I try to adapt with everything, but I don't remember.

• 47:02Josh Horowitz?

  Really?

• 47:03Speaker 04

  Yeah, I, yeah, I can't remember.

• 47:05Josh Horowitz?

  Is there a kind of direction that you don't take to? Like, what do you need or want out of a director?

• 47:09Speaker 04

  I, one of the best directors I ever worked with was, uh, Thomas Schlammy.

• 47:14Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah, West Wing, sure.

• 47:15Speaker 04

  Tom would have this Kazan thing where he'd fool me into doing things or he'd have other actors fuck with me. And I hated it at the time, but god damn it, it really got a great performance out of me.

• 47:27Josh Horowitz?

  Huh.

• 47:27Speaker 04

  And he, yeah, he's one of my favorite directors.

• 47:30Josh Horowitz?

  Nice. Finally, in the spirit of Happy Sad Confused, an actor who always makes you happy. You see them on screen, you're in a better mood.

• 47:36Speaker 04

  Uh, Root, Stephen Root, God, oh, there's so many of them. Um, um, Charlie Durning.

• 47:42Josh Horowitz?

  Yep.

• 47:45Speaker 04

  Uh, I'm gonna Mark, um,

• 47:50Josh Horowitz?

  You got it. We got this. We can land the plane.

• 47:54Josh Horowitz?

  What's he been in?

• 47:55Speaker 04

  The great English actor.

• 47:56Josh Horowitz?

  Oh, oh, um, uh, Mark Rylance.

• 48:00Speaker 04

  Yeah, Mark Rylance. I'm sorry, Mark.

• 48:02Josh Horowitz?

  We got there.

• 48:03Speaker 04

  But he is always a joy. And such a sweet man.

• 48:08Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah.

• 48:09Speaker 04

  But boy, he, he's got it. He, he's got everything.

• 48:13Josh Horowitz?

  One of the most transcendent experiences on stage I ever saw was watching him in Jerusalem.

• 48:17Speaker 04

  I wish I would have seen that. I, I heard about that. He just swells to this giant, we'd call him.

• 48:24Josh Horowitz?

  Aggro man, yeah, just crazy.

• 48:28Speaker 04

  But everything, I, I've never seen him be the same. It's just lovely to watch.

• 48:33Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah. Theater days behind you? Are you done with theater?

• 48:36Speaker 04

  No, I hope not.

• 48:36Josh Horowitz?

  Seriously? Oh, that'd be great.

• 48:38Speaker 04

  I, I I keep saying about how I want to do a long day's journey someday, but, uh, I don't know. I don't know. I'm happy to afford it. I, I hope I can still, well, while my memory holds up, which is slipping.

• 48:51Josh Horowitz?

  That's a pair of a part. That's a pair of a hickey. You, that's.

• 48:54Speaker 04

  No, no, it's, it's, uh, old man, uh, Tyrone.

• 48:57Josh Horowitz?

  Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 48:57Speaker 04

  James Tyrone.

• 48:58Josh Horowitz?

  Sure, sure.

• 49:01Josh Horowitz?

  That'd be up.

• 49:02Speaker 04

  Yeah, that, that, I don't even know.

• 49:05Josh Horowitz?

  You could do it. We believe in you. I'll be there with the lines offstage, reading them to you. You need it.

• 49:09Speaker 04

  Thank you.

• 49:11Josh Horowitz?

  Movie that makes you sad?

• 49:13Speaker 04

  Yeet.

• 49:18Speaker 04

  I'm sorry, I can't remember. Old Yeller.

• 49:20Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah, that's a good one. That's a good one.

• 49:22Speaker 04

  Yeah, Old Yeller.

• 49:23Josh Horowitz?

  Finally, what food makes you confused? You don't get it. Why do people eat that?

• 49:28Speaker 04

  Tomatoes.

• 49:29Josh Horowitz?

  Just tomatoes? You're anti tomato.

• 49:32Speaker 04

  I'm not anti tomato. I eat them. I like them. Uh, that was the first thing that popped into my mind.

• 49:39Josh Horowitz?

  Turned into a therapy session.

• 49:40Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 49:41Josh Horowitz?

  Yeah, okay. It's okay.

• 49:43Speaker 04

  This is horrible.

• 49:44Josh Horowitz?

  You don't fail the test. You win. You won. You won the podcast.

• 49:47Speaker 04

  Okay. Thank you.

• 49:49Josh Horowitz?

  We're gonna find, Josh, we'll find a prize for you.

• 49:52Speaker 04

  Solid.

• 49:54Speaker 04

  1956 Cadillac.

• 49:56Josh Horowitz?

  I don't have that, sorry. Maybe a Matchbox version of it.

• 49:59Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 49:59Josh Horowitz?

  Um, hey, congrats on everything, on Digger, on every single performance that has brought me and so many so much joy. And just thank you for the time today. This is very meaningful for me. I appreciate you.

• 50:10Speaker 04

  Thanks, Josh. I really appreciate it.

• 50:14Speaker 05

  And so ends another edition of Happy Sad Confused. Remember to review, rate and subscribe to this show on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm a big podcast person. I'm Daisy Ridley and I definitely wasn't pressured to do this by Josh.

• 50:33Speaker 00

  Get this. When you're with Xfinity, you're already a member. No sign up, no cost. Score epic experiences from our family at NBC Universal. Plus movie tickets, discounts on streaming, mobile and more. Check the Xfinity app every Thursday for exclusive perks and experiences only with Xfinity. Now that's the way to start a weekend. Let the magic begin. Restrictions apply. Visit Xfinity.com/membership to learn more.