Zach Braff Returns

22:15But then within four seconds, I'm like, oh, this is the sweetest guy I've ever met. And I got comfortable with it. And then I came to really enjoy how playful he was with his clothes. But now he's got money. And it is the most exciting. I've never seen anything like it. The closest comp I can give your audience is Liberace. Sorry, Liberace. Yeah, Liberace. It is diamonds like I've never seen in real life. It is furs. It is a white t-shirt that's ripped. it is Louis Vuitton or Gucci boots that make him like six inches. Gene Simmons style. Gene Simmons like Gucci or Louis Vuitton boots. Yes. A lot of pink.

22:52There's an entourage around him. Great crew around. He has a whole posse that moves like the show entourage. That's not something I've really seen in real life. I mean, I know it exists, but I haven't really been around those people. He's someone who lives that kind of life. But it's really important to say with no entourage douchiness. Just kindness, sweetness. He's kind and lovely. Any champions, interesting, we're both examples of it. When he likes someone, he really champions them. Oh yeah, he'll die for anyone he loves. Also, I'll add, he's a Greek kid from Sunland who had a big afro when he graduated and just wanted to play baseball and has never drank in his life.

23:25He's so PG and so sweet and so earnest and has tried so hard. He runs 16 miles a day. Yeah. And takes calls while he's running. Nate told me the best story. So yes, anytime you're talking to him, likely he's running up a hill. He's pretty good at not letting you know. He keeps his breathing in check. But Nate was on the phone with him. It was a pretty important call. I think he had clients on the call as well. It was a big conference call. And all of a sudden he heard, Oh, sorry, but sorry, but just got into ice bath. So mid-conference call, he's ran 16 miles and now he's entering into an ice bath.

23:58I mean, he's the most eccentric, wonderful person. and just the sweetest human I've ever met. He's the reason, he and Brian Klugman, oh, I wanted to tell you about how we come up with the ads. So we were shooting one and Brian says, oh, I haven't thought of Christmas spots yet. Someone in the group says, oh, you know, it'd be funny to do like a spoof of Love Actually with the cards at the door. Yeah. And they go, that could be funny. Well, why don't we shoot a speck of it right now while we're here? Yeah. So he has a PA grab the cards. At the end of the day, we do one take, two cameras cross shooting of the messaging that they want for Christmas on the cards.

24:29We never say a word. They love it. We have a proof of concept. We come back a few months later and shoot the real thing with fake snow on the ground. But that's why it's such a fun thing to be doing because it's very, very collaborative. You know, you hear this thing about the ad market. I think this is most people's experience is like, just do this, do these storyboards. And if it's not funny, you're kind of cringing. Our thing is the opposite. It's like, what would you say? What do you want to say? Riff 10 things. Yes, I was going to say, I think where we'll see other actors go wrong in these commercials is probably they're not writers or they're not improvers or they're not directors.

25:00so they're relying on the entire machine that is Madison Avenue I don't know that they're great at writing to actors in the way like we could agree great television showrunners there's not a ton of them and their gift is they can write to you to make you shine yeah that's a good way to put it and it's such a rare ability so I think when Kristen and I have been approached both campaigns we've done that starts with like hey I'll have to write them we'll get the concept done but it'll have to go through my fingers so that our voices are correct. Yeah, that's smart. And it kind of starts with that agreement.

25:33And everyone's been cool about it. I had a friend who was going to do an ad and she sent me the copy and she goes, hey, can you help me? I'm like shooting this tomorrow. And I was like, oh, no. Most of the time, it's oh, no. I used to direct them too. I've done a couple. Did you like? I found it to be terrible. I stopped doing it. It's demoralizing. And unlike my T-Mobile experience, which has been awesome, it was not collaborative. They really just wanted me to execute the storyboards. And I was like, well, then why am I here? A lot of people can execute these storyboards. I want to bring something to the table.

26:02Yeah, I want to bring something to the table. In descending order, film is the director's medium. Television is writer, then director. The TV spots are the client, the ad agency, the this, the that before it gets the director. Earlier on in my career, I loved it because I was not getting any budget for my work. So it was fun to have a big budget and to hire the coolest cinematographers in the world because they all do commercials. So you can hire these badass DPs and work with them and hopefully develop friendships with them. And I'm a camera geek, so playing with all the cool camera toys. But then I really got over it because I was like, doing this is not fun.

26:32And it's very stressful. There's way too many emails. Too many emails. And then on set, there's like 55 people that got to sign off on everything that happens. Yeah. One time Dax was directing. As a favor. I want to add that. As a favor. and you were getting so mad. And I was like, be nicer. What if these people listen to the podcast? People had joined via Zoom from another state. Of course, because that's what they do. They didn't get their day on their shoot. So they lost their day because of this racket. And then I was asked by my wife, can you save this thing and direct this in our house and get the piece we didn't get?

27:07And I go, yeah, yeah, absolutely. Can't wait. Do it. Well, now this group that already derailed it the first time are now on a Zoom call. And I just very bluntly said, hey, you guys lost your day. And I'm not here to make you happy. I'm here to give you this thing that you guys lost yesterday. So that was my attitude. And Monica was very upset. Well, it's good that Monica keeps you in check. It's good to have someone whisper in your ear like, hey, you're being a dick. Yeah, you have to. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's very easy to lose track of that. I've never been a dick on a TV show I've directed or a movie.

27:38Aren't you amazed at how many people are? Yeah. You know, Bill Lawrence, who's my mentor, I was a waiter when I got scrubs and he ingrained in the sets I've been on my whole life that no asshole policy, the Dolly grip might have a better joke than you do. Don't have an ego about it. Yeah. You know, that's the vibe of the sets we run. The insecurity it has sometimes created to me is I'm on a set or more often I hear a story about a really great director and what they did and how they treated everyone. In the past, I've been like, am I never going to direct blank because I'm not a fucking asshole?

28:10Can you only get this level of movie by being a tyrant? No, I don't think that. But there's been times where I think it's about having courage because sometimes I find myself directing somebody huge and I go, it's take five. We've got to look at the time. Are you going to have the balls to go? Hey, man, we don't have it yet. We got to keep going. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's where I have to give myself a pep talk and be like, come on, don't be a wimp. Go have the difficult conversation to push this person because a year from now when this comes out, they're going to be so stoked that even though it was the middle of the night and they were cranky and everyone's cranky and it's raining that you pushed them.

28:48OK, so you did one episode of Ted Lasso. Yeah. And you've done five shrinkings. I've done five shrinkings. I just did two roosters, which is the new Carell show with Bill. How did those experiences differ? LASSO was crazy because I was dating Florence at the time and I was over in London and Bill said, I've got this new show with Sudeikis and it's going to be great. And do you want to direct the second one of all time? If you remember, it was the one about the biscuits. And I said, yeah, that should be fun. I like Sudeikis. He's hilarious. And I'm over here anyway. I'd love to work with you. I directed it.

29:19It was a lot of fun. I'm not really into sports. So I thought, I bet people who like soccer will like this. I mean, it's cute. And Sudeikis is very funny. and Bill's great. And then I left. Right, right. And then it came out and it was insane what happened. It's still insane. If I go to Apple, I'll notice it's still always in the top three, often in the top two. And a new episode hasn't come out in years. It just became a phenomenon. Yeah. And all those guys became famous and what's happened to Brett Goldstein is incredible. And I just met them all when they were all completely unknown. Yeah, second episode's tricky.

29:51Second episode's tricky because the pilot of Lasso had a lot of pipe to lay out. It had a lot of story to conquer. And episode two of The Biscuits was the one where Bill and Jason were going to show you, oh, we're also going to break your heart. Also just establishing the tone of the show going forward. It's like we established all the characters. Now we're going to show you what the vibe going forward is. Yes, that really was too. And also it was the first one with gameplay, which was funny because the Greensmen on the field were so protective of the pitch and they wouldn't let us bring equipment.

30:24on it. So I had to, as someone who's not into sports, figure out how the hell we're going to shoot soccer without bringing gear on the field. So we've built this rig. Have you ever seen the things they bring on the beach that are the big inflatable tires on sets? Yeah, yeah. So the key grip and the dolly grip and the DP and myself, we all collaborate on this thing. It had big inflatable tires, almost like something you'd see on the moon, that with a remote head on it. And then it had a pull bar and the grips would put cleats on and they would run with it. And those tires they accepted as light enough and the cleats were of course fine and then the dp would operate the remote head on the sideline so we kind of came up with this really cool rig and that's how soccer was shot the whole show that stayed with the show yeah stay tuned for more armchair expert if you dare thank you to our presenting sponsor apple tv the new u.s home of formula one you can now watch complete all-access live coverage of every Grand Prix, including practice, qualifying, and sprints all in one place.

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34:23So when you go into shrinking, when do you appear in shrinking? Shrinking season one, episode eight was the one for those who know the show where the centerpiece of the whole show is that Gabby goes to her ex-boyfriend's art show. That was my first entry into the shrinking world. How was it directing Harrison for talking about like the intimidation factor of someone might not be getting it on take five? Yeah. Him and Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine. Like I've had a couple of experiences with these mega guys. Yeah. And it's scary. Being Morgan and Harrison, everyone is weird around them. Yes. You have to understand.

34:56It's not their fault. Everyone is weird around them. I was driving in a golf cart with Harrison around the Warner Brothers lot and there's constant trams of tourists going by. And he just gently turns his head the other way. And I go, do you ever wave? And he goes, no, but I do feel bad about it.

35:15But you have to understand that no one in their life, except maybe their loved ones, is normal to them. I know. So what they long for, I've deduced, is someone to just act like you don't give a fuck. Yeah. Not in a rude way, of course, a respectful way. But that wins them over real quick. I had to give myself pep talks. I had a tricky time with Alan. Rest in peace. Brilliant actor. but he was the trickiest for me. But Morgan and Michael Caine were really, really lovely. And Morgan so much that when I offered him a good person, a movie that was my own script with Florence, he said yes. And we had a really good experience making that.

35:46But he is gruff as hell. And he really only wants to work in the morning. And he really kind of only wants to do one take. Yeah, he said that. After you go cut on take one, you go, great, everybody, that was awesome. Let's go again. You hear wah. I don't know. I respect it. Wah. Wah. for fucking 25 days, every setup. John Doe has the upper hand. Wow. And what would you say to him? I'd be like, Morgan, that was take one. You were great, obviously. You're never bad. But, you know, we got to figure some things out. The camera didn't get the reposition and there's something going on with the background.

36:20And I want to put this lamp over here. And it was take one. And I'd be like, OK. And then, you know, throughout the course of the day after lunch, he was an older man and he was getting tired. So that was the first example of I was intimidated and I had to give myself a pep talk. It's what we're talking about. I'm not an angry director. I don't yell at anyone. That's not my vibe, but I do have to go. If you're a wimp now and don't have the courage to go tell Morgan, even though it's three in the morning and we're outside and it's cold that we got to go again with the crying scene, he's going to be mad at you a year from now.

36:52And we're showing this movie in the scene doesn't work. So that's my responsibility. And with Harrison, I have that too. People always go, how are you directing them? You're not teaching them. You're not teaching a brilliant actor. What you are is steering the ship and you're going, Harrison, because the scene before this X, Y, and Z happened, should we do one where you're a little more angry? I think maybe we should. Nine times out of 10, he'll be like, absolutely. You're right. That's good. That's good. Yeah. I'm the conductor of the orchestra. I'm not the greatest first violinist in the world.

37:20You are. But if I ask you to play that note a little bit louder, it's because I'm thinking of the whole thing and we shoot movies out of order and you might not be thinking of the scene. You weren't even in the scene before this, when we shot it. We went to here. So this scene needs to be here. It helps, though, because once you've had the courage to do that with Harrison Ford and Morgan Freeman, I feel like I can do it with anybody. It's the ultimate swimming with weights on. We just had Sterling K. Brown on and he said, you can't be a fan and in the game at the same time. And I was like, that's a perfect way to say it.

37:47You can't be like, I love him so much. I can't tell him what to do. It's like, no, you're the coach of the game. And they don't want that. I just had the really cool experience. Harrison Ford interviewed me for Interview Magazine. Oh, no kidding. for this Scrubs rollout. And it was very trippy because my interaction with him on set is chummy, but you know, he's Harrison Ford. I never thought he would ever say yes. They said, who do you want to interview you for Interview Magazine? They usually pair you with someone. And I said, well, maybe Brett Goldstein will do it because he's a buddy of mine and he's an actor, director, writer.

38:15I thought that'd be a good match. And I was like, I don't know, ask Harrison Ford kind of sarcastically. And then Harrison said yes. Oh my goodness. So it was very cool. It turned into a more of a conversation, but I got to ask him questions that I'm not asking him when we're sitting around on set in the director's chairs. Yeah. I asked him, what do you like from a director? What's most helpful to you? He was saying a lot of the same things we're saying. Like, I'm not always keeping track of where we are. I need you to remind me where we've come from and where we're going. I personally had wished some people had phrased that to me that way at times.

38:47I think it would have been helpful because I take it as like, I've done something wrong in this moment, as opposed to, I need your help with this broader story. That's just so helpful to me when I was younger and super insecure on set and we're going again, but I don't know why. And I'm thinking something I'm doing wrong. And it's like, oh, no, no, it's not that you're doing wrong. It's like, also, we got to service this huge story. I might even be asking you to do something that's not as true just to service this bigger story. And I might also not know yet. That's something that takes being 50 years old is to go, I also might not know what the answer is yet.

39:17Would you help me find it by going again and trying one like this? Because then at the monitor, I might go, oh, Eureka, that is what I was looking for. Yes. Okay, so another thing that happened, and this is a moment when I text you, which is you popped up on Bad Monkey Season 1. And I thought you were so great. Thank you. I immediately text you like, oh my God, I love seeing you as this fucked up disheveled train wreck. I feel like everyone was talking about it. It was really bizarre. I never get parts like that. Right. I would love to do more drama like that. And Bill, of course, is my biggest champion in my whole career.

39:50And he said, hey, do you want to come down and do some scenes with Vince Vaughn in Miami? Emmy. And I was like, that sounds great. I got the same pitch. Yeah. He's been using that pitch. I think that sounds great. No, I think once he knew you were a fan and he loves you, he was like, that's going to really fuck people up when you show up in bad monkey. They're going to be like, he's back. But again, it's so similar. Cause I got to say, I hadn't seen you act in a while. You know how this is. I don't get offered parts like that. I don't come to mind for people at a part like that. Yeah. Like a fucked up, degenerate, drug addict.

40:23A fucked up, degenerate, drug addict who's going to saw somebody's arm off. Do you remember when Albert Brooks was in Drive and he was the bad guy? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And he was fucking brilliant. Yes. Not that I was playing that much of a heavy or that big of a part, but that's what I kind of was thinking of. So Bill gave me this opportunity. I did it. It was fun. Did you have any anxiety about it? Not doing the part. I felt confident that I could do the role. I was intimidated by Vince just because I never met him. He's a legend in my eyes. Swingers was a pivotal moment in my life. Like we all wanted to be Vince Vaughn.

40:53I wanted to be Vince Vaughn. And then there was a movie after called Made that I don't know if a lot of people saw, but I loved. I just thought he was one of the funniest improvisers. Actually, watch if someone listening hasn't seen Made. The blooper reel with him and Favreau is even funnier than the movie. Yes. Talking about the per diem? Yeah. Because Vince is just riffing and Favreau cannot keep a straight face. It's so funny. I always laugh at people trying to hold together. Have you seen that movie, Monica? I haven't. I'm gonna. They're both dipshits. and they get sent to New York on this mission.

41:19Vince does not know what per diem means, but they're trying to act like they've been there, done that. And so the guy's trying to like tell him you're going to get this per diem. And they're just trying to bullshit their way into figuring out what the fuck per diem means. It's so brilliant and subtle. The blooper reel shows you how Vince works. See him in live time figuring out the best way to do the joke. Yeah. But Favreau keeps ruining the takes. Favreau's the director and in the scene, but he keeps ruining the takes because Vince is so funny. I had a funny moment in Bad Monkey. I had to play a corpse in one scene.

41:44Sorry, spoiler. they put the makeup on me and i'm lying in the morgue drawer and vince and his scene partner have a scene over me and he just starts riffing the funniest shit that's not in the script and bill is like bro we have to fucking do vfx on your body because your shoulders are bopping the corpse cannot help but laugh oh he's brilliant like that so anyway i did it and i i didn't think about it again although it's funny i did have an experience with vince where we were all going out to dinner. I was like, oh my God, I'm going to hang out with Vince Vaughn. And Andrew Watt was down there.

42:19Andrew Watt is like one of the biggest music producers around and he's Bill's daughter, Charlotte's fiance. Oh, okay. So he was down there and we all went out and Bill wasn't there, but we were all out going, oh my God, I can't believe we're all hanging out with Vince Vaughn. This is a dream. And then Vince was like, should I come back to your guy's place? Because we were all living in this condo. We were like, yeah, that'd be awesome. Him and Andrew were just throwing him back. You know, I don't drink like that anymore. Him and Andrew were just throwing them back on the balcony. Big guy. I'm sure he can handle it.

42:47Oh, yeah. Like the biggest fucking case of Corona's you ever saw. And I'm like, oh, my God. It's fun. Oh, my God. I'm hanging out. It's fun. Oh, my God. Are Vince Van and Andrew Watt going to drink all night long on the balcony? What are you going to do? You're just going to have to suck that one up. I did. I disappeared. Recused yourself? I recused myself. And I put earplugs in. They drank until like four in the morning on the balcony outside my room. But my point is, 25-year-old me would have been like, what are you doing going to bed? Yeah. It's really interesting. So I text Bill if I'm allowed to even say I'm on it.

43:21He hasn't responded, but let me see if he does. It's time. We'll decide for Apple if it's time that people know. We've been holding on to this for a while. Oh, yes, have fun. I love that. Okay, so that's Bill. Okay, great. So yes, I too am now on it. So this is what I think is so fun about our overlap. And it's not just overlap. Like, oh, we were both on Bad Monkey. We're both on Bad Monkey at a very specific point in our lives at a very specific age. Doing dramatic roles we don't normally get cast in. Yes. Although I'm playing a douchey. I'm pretty much back to your old drawing board. Oh, I actually don't know what character you play.

43:53Although he told me some fun anecdotes I won't say because they're spoilers. But he did tell me that he had some funny stories. I'll tell you what the character's name is. Rat Daddy. That tells you a lot. I think the name says a lot. But you can summon that inner Rat Daddy, can't you? Oh, it's always ready to come out. I bet there was boating involved. Boating? Yeah. Yeah, good idea. Yeah, yeah, smart, smart. Well, it takes place in the Florida Keys. Yes. And so when I talked to Bill, we interviewed Bill in September of last year. He's actually our first video guest. Yeah, that's him. And he was so fun and good.

44:22And he said, I'm going to make you act next year. And I said, I don't think so. I'm really busy on this and I'm very content. And he said, what if all your scenes were with Vince Vaughn? Same pitch. That's how he lures people. Yes, it's great. It works. and so when we talked on the phone he's like how big of a commitment can you make and I said I don't know he said what would you want to play and I said a muscly douchebag and he goes oh buddy do I have the role but it's going to be a few episodes and rat daddies but I was going to say I'm making a lot of assumptions about you but you and I I would hope have the pride of like all else said 25 years we've been doing this the longevity I never hit the points I was trying to hit I had my eyes set on being Will Ferrell or Vince Vaughn.

45:04That didn't happen. I wanted to be Steven Soderbergh as a director. That didn't happen. But I have great pride in the longevity, like fucking 25 years is hard to do. And I wonder where you sit with this. And tell me about the ebbs and flows of those aspirations. That's a good way to put it. I have thought similarly. I've had my ebbs and flows. I've had career highs and years where nothing was fucking happening. But I think those ultimately led to me finally then sitting and writing a script I was proud of. And then I've had moments where I was like, I cannot believe this is happening to me. I can't believe this is all happening at the same time.

45:35This is so crazy. I'm so neurotic. So something awful is bound to happen tomorrow. So that's part of doing this job. We're freelance. And you just nailed it. You either have nothing or you have too much. Nobody has the right amount of it. Yeah. And it's a wave. And if you write it wrong, you crash. And if you write it right, it can keep going and going. In fact, I'll give you an example. That little part I did on Bad Monkey, I got a lot of love for it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was sending you a love letter text. You did. And a lot of other actors I respect a lot as well. I would see a celebrity actor that I love.

46:06I don't know them that well, but I'm like, hey, man, how are you? And they were like, hey, dude, Bad Monkey, you crushed it. And it would just make me feel so good. Yeah, of course. And it had been a minute, right? I've been doing a lot of directing. Yeah, it'd been a minute. And it'd certainly been a long time since I'd gotten a juicy dramatic part. Yeah, I think a lot of what people were saying was like, I forgot he's so good. Oh, thank you. It's fun. It's like when When Edward Norton acts, he acts once a decade. And you're like, oh, that's right. He's one of the greatest to ever do that. But I'll tell you, I got an offer to do an indie that was very challenging, playing a cop.

46:34True story about a cop who was a narcotics cop outside Baltimore and lost his daughter to drug addiction. An amazing script. It's called Clean Hands. It's going to hopefully be on the festival circuit. But I think I got that offer probably, I'm imagining, because of my work on Bad Monkey. Yeah. I had the courage to do it because of the feedback I was getting from some actors. I really loved and respected and went and had the most incredible experience where I really let myself go to a place I haven't because I had a little bit of wind at my sails. Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course. And it shows in the movie, the movie I'm really proud of.

47:07And so, yes, I guess to answer your question, to be able to make a living in this wacky ass career path for 25 years, I feel so grateful. I know so many talented people that are incredible that aren't working or can't get work or had to move out of LA. I never go to sleep a single night without putting my head on my pillow and saying how grateful I am for the things that have happened. There were periods where I felt bad for myself that I didn't hit the mark I was going for. And then a lot of weird things happen over time. Well, what about this? This is unexpected and who would have guessed it?

47:39You mean outside of this podcast world, the goals you set for yourself as a filmmaker? Yes, or as an actor, like what I was trying to get to. and I now have the vantage point of like, oh, I got to do a ton of stuff multiple times and I'm still around. But you also don't know what's around the corner. Bill is a perfect example. He created Spin City when he was like 25 years old and then he makes Scrubs. And then after Scrubs, he does a lot of stuff, Cougar Town and Undateable, but it isn't hitting the zeitgeist like those two first did. Yeah. He, I think, thought like, okay, I've had a good career.

48:13I can't complain. I love what I do. And then all of a sudden, lasso breaks. And then shrinking breaks. And then Bad Monkey breaks. And I can guarantee you this Carell show called Rooster that I directed for HBO is amazing. It's going to break. And now we're doing the Scrubs revival that hopefully will break. So that man is on absolute fire. My point is he didn't expect that at all. He didn't think that's what his 50s were going to be about. You and I also have a unique experience in that we go back and forth from overseeing everything to just being an actor. Which is such a mindfuck. It is. Yeah.

48:45We're talking on that. When you're directing and producing the show, there's so much pressure and there's always a problem. You open your phone, there's 11 fires being put out. And then everyone is like this all day long. And you're looking at your watch going, we are so fucked for time. What are we going to do? How am I going to shoot that next scene in an hour? And the actor, 180 degrees, is like, we got it? All right, I'll be in my trailer. Bye. I'm going to go lay down and read my phone. Yeah, I'm going to go look at Instagram. Oh, you guys are all sweating because of all those problems? See ya.

49:18I think what's different for me on Scrubs, I directed this pilot of the revival. Okay, we'll get right into it. I just watched it. Did you like it? It's so good, dude. I'm so excited. Thank you. You know, I didn't watch Scrubs, not because I had anything against it. I was 25 and I was an addict. I didn't watch any TV. I totally miss Scrubs. I've seen an episode or two, but I'm watching this and I'm remembering, oh, it has that same thing that I saw the first time, which again, you would think would be easy to capture, but I think would be really hard. It is. So it's got that thing, but I must've said five times my wife was getting ready in the bathroom.

49:53I'm like, this show is fucking good. This is how I'm saying it. And then five minutes, like this show is really good. I mean, it's just a fucking good show. Like I missed it. This is a great show. Start the first. With the kids. With the kids. I love that original scrub so much. You know, it'll be really trippy for people like yourself who didn't watch the show and watch it now and get into it. And hopefully they love it. There is eight good seasons of the OG that they can go back and watch how we became who we became. And that's a unique thing. But you do a very clean and effortless, it's not laborious, catch up to what's going on.

50:30We meet you. I'm working as a concierge doctor and I've been separated from my friend group. I haven't worked there for 17 years. Donald's character, Turk, and myself, we were best friends, the whole bromance thing. We really have both kind of fallen into melancholia because we're lacking the community and friendship. The show's theme song says, I can't do this all on my own. It's what helped us get through what these men and women who work in hospitals deal with. The ups and downs, the highs and lows of being one of these superheroes that work in a hospital. You have a patient who returns to...

51:04A grandmother who collapsed at her grandson's soccer game, and I live an hour away because my patient ended up back at Sacred Heart. I have to come so I'm reentered into the world. I haven't been there in a very long time. I can't wait. It's very meta. It's like returning to high school after you've left and you're returning to high school after you left. And what's really trippy, I'm getting goosebumps talking about it, which is funny because I've lived it. We used to shoot scrubs in an abandoned hospital in the valley, Riverside and Whitsitt. And that building got torn down. In order to do Return to Sacred Heart, the hospital, we had to build, recreate the entire thing to perfection on a soundstage.

51:42And so now I enter the soundstage fully dressed and fully recreated down to like the dusty murals on the wall. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's a place I haven't been in 17 years, but it's a place I spent my 20s. Is that the real gap between when the show went off and now? 17 years is when the show ended. Yeah. But we started in 2000. There is a few young people playing interns on the show that were born the year we started airing because they're 25 years old. That's how old interns are. Yeah. Yeah. First aired 25 years ago. Isn't that crazy? It's bonkers. Now, I can't put too fine a point on it. It's fucking great.

52:21Thank you, man. Yeah. John C. McGinley looks incredible. I don't know what his protocol is. He's a beast like you. He works out like a motherfucker. He's looking great. He's very into the sauna cold plunge. Donald's looking fit. Donald does not age. We're posting all this stuff because we're promoting it. And anytime I post a picture of Donald and myself, every third comment is, wow, Donald didn't age. Sure. But no, everybody came back. Was it emotional? Yeah, it was my 20s. This is what I need you to answer because the sweetest chunk of my life as an actor was parenthood. It was just beautiful from day one to the end.

52:55And there are many times where it's like, if I ever wanted to act again, that's what I would want to do. And then I have this great fear of like, but is it returning to high school? Would I go and then just be brokenhearted that, no, it can't be that thing. Are you so close with all those people? Yeah, yeah. Absolutely can be. Yeah. So tell me that part of it. What was unique for our cast is we're all very close. We love each other. We text, we do things together. Bill and I are best friends. Donald and I are best friends. I go out to Johnny's house. He lives out in Malibu. He's the one who got me into sauna and cold plunging and taught me the benefits of it all.

53:25Sarah lives in Vancouver, Krista Miller, Bill's wife. We're all very close. We go on vacations together. And so the idea of we're just going to get the band back together, it isn't like going back to high school in a sense that you're going to feel misplaced. It's we're going to see what these people are like now. Because Scrubs is about a teaching hospital, first and foremost. And when we entered the world in 2000, we were young, wide-eyed newbies. In all the ways. Yeah, we were living it. I had just come from waiting tables. Didn't take much to play a guy wide-eyed in over his head. Yeah. And now in the same meta way, as I come back, I'm directing the pilot.

54:01We're coming back and now we're the teachers for the young kids. The story is still about us, but you can't tell the story of a teaching hospital without students. Right. First question, how much did the success of the pit play into this coming back? And how much is you and Donald being in the T-Mobile commercial? What is the recipe that leads to the relaunch? I think it was our podcast. First of all, did really well. Okay. I mean, not armchair expert. We don't know. Maybe it was bigger. You just ran out of episodes to watch. No, you guys, it certainly was not on the level of your show, but it had a big following enough so that we could feel it.

54:34We could feel that it was popular. And it did sort of suffer when we ran out of episodes because you're both very good at interviewing people. That's not a skill set Donald and I really have. We were good at telling jokes and laughing and we can kibitz all day long. You can get interviewed forever. Right. And we can just chat. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I can imagine the audience enjoyed some of that. We also would go on long ass tangents. We were also very candid. His wife would come on and they were very candid. We had a sex therapist on and it was hilarious because him and his wife just started going to a session with the sex therapist.

55:02And it was so fun. And they are both very open. Like there's no secrets. It was just great. We're interviewing the sex therapist. We're being boys. We're asking all the questions. She's like, you can't flap this woman. Just ask her whatever the fuck you want to ask her. And she's an amazing guest. And Donald starts to talk about how him and his wife have an issue. And I can say this because they already brought it out. It's on the podcast. He has a much bigger libido than she does. And his libido, he's 50 years old and he has libido of a 16 year old. That's why he looks so youthful. Casey comes on and she's like, all right, I'm ready to talk about it.

55:34She's got a Southern accent. She's from Texas. And it starts kind of funny as a joke. And then the woman starts giving them genuine counseling. This is a very common problem. Let's talk about it. And it was so candid and interesting and funny that I was like, oh, this I enjoy. Yeah, of course. But my point is, outside of that rare exception, we were best when we were shooting this shit about an episode of the show. Right, right. So that's why I sort of faded out. Maybe we'll start doing it again now that there's more episodes to talk about. So that was encouraging. The podcast was one big thing.

56:04Then the T-Mobile campaign became really successful. And then they kept re-upping us. And then I think Bill just being on fire. We always joked, because Bill loves a panel. If you're listening to this and you're orchestrating a TV panel, invite Bill. He'll come. And every panel the man's ever been on. And he's like, yeah, we're going to do something with Scrubs. We haven't figured it out yet, but we're doing something. So in my mind, you know, the show Psych, whatever channel they're on, they had done some psych movies. I thought, oh, maybe we'll do that. Or we'll do six episodes. We'll do something.

56:29How could we not? We're all available. There's interest. Bill wants to do it. Bill's on fire. I think it was being negotiated long before the pit because it took a long time to negotiate. This is a businessy thing that most people won't care about. But Bill's deal is somewhere else. Bill has a huge Warner Brothers deal. One of the biggest of all time. Yeah, good for him. Good for him. Almost T-Mobile money.

56:50This is a Disney property. So it took like two years for them to all talk. Yeah. All those lawyers. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So literally once we said yes, it was like two years of negotiations just with those two guys. Wow. So you've known this was looming for an eternity. I've known something, but it was never revealed until the end. Oh, it's primetime ABC, eight o 'clock, Wednesday nights, Hulu the next day, the full push. February 23rd? February 25th. First, fifth, fifth. February 25th. February, do you want to say that again? Yes, 25th. February 25th. February 25th, 8 o 'clock, we're showing both episodes 1 and 2, back to back.

57:27Brilliant. And then it's on Hulu the next day. And then if you're listening to this anywhere around the world, it's most likely on Disney+. Episode 2, also great. I watched 1 and 2 prior to this. It's a good show. It's a good show. It's a good show. I just like that while your wife's getting ready, you yell, it's a good show. My tone is like, there's no way you can say anything but this. Well, Bill and I had a mantra and I put it on a whiteboard because I'm very into whiteboarding. Okay. We said, you know, a lot of people are going to come at the show like this with their arms crossed. Because the show is meaningful to a lot of people.

57:57Where is it streaming? On Hulu? Hulu. I imagine it's still huge. It is. I think it's gotten a bump because of the push. And so we said we have to make the pilot undeniable. And when you say that you're yelling to Kristen, it's good. That makes me feel like we did our job. Because we just knew that the show is important. A lot of people, we didn't want to do them wrong. You know, it takes place in 2026. We had to make a modern day version of it and we're 50 years old, but we wanted to honor the tone of the show that they loved. What about having to say the medical jargon? Has it been a while? It's just like if you've ever had to memorize a little piece of another language for a part.

58:33I haven't. I do have anxiety when I'm watching you. There's a woman on set or a man sometimes. And first of all, you can say when you read the script, send me the nurse who's on set saying how you say this. Okay, okay. So then you kind of get it in your head. And then she's on set. So you can be like, am I saying that right? After takes, whenever I do a procedure, even when I did the cop movie, I did a little police training, but there was a detective on set. And after every take, I'd be like, I don't know how you did it on chips, but ours wasn't a comedy. And I certainly didn't want to fuck anything up.

59:02After every take, I'd be like, please tell me I want to go again. If that didn't look right, he's like, that looked great. So I have the same relationship with a nurse who's on set on Scrubs. The AMA, people would be surprised to hear, has said that Scrubs was the most medically accurate show on TV. I have heard that. I know, but they're saying that about the pit. The pit has taken the mantle. In fact, I slid into Noah Wiley's DMs. We love him. I love the pit. Yes, fucking. And I always thought Noah Wiley never got the flowers he deserved as an actor. I love actors. So when I see an actor who's finally having their moment, I feel this thing in my heart for them.

59:35Yeah, yeah. So I never met Noah Wiley, I don't think. But I DMed him and I said, I just got to say the show's wonderful. And you're just a phenomenal actor. And he wrote back, thank you so much, Zach. That means a lot, paraphrasing, but it was something to the effect of we knew going into this that Scrubs was known as the most medically accurate. And we really wanted to achieve that level of success. Oh, wow. That was kind of. So that was very sweet. They also had Wells on their side who had done ER. Right. Was ER? ER was below. ER was already out by the time Scrubs. But I think that a lot of the shows that are dramatic take dramatic license because look at Grey's Anatomy, the things that have happened, or ER, the things that have happened.

1:00:10Well, she was telling me she's on ER a bit and it's like six or seven little kids have gotten AIDS. Yeah, I watched ER again after the pick because I needed more, mainly more Noah Wiley. Every two episodes, someone has AIDS and it's often like a kid or the way that probably they're not. The thing about it is the dramas have to keep the drama going. Yes. And when you're on a comedy, maybe you have the license to keep it more realistic because there is a mix of comedy and drama. You don't always have to have someone on their deathbed and you're doing CPR. Also, the pit and ER are both ER shows. It's interesting about Scrubs.

1:00:44We do have emergency situations, but we never deal with the world of the ER. Right. That's true. Okay, and this is a feather in your cap. So, sorry, this is a spoiler. Coldplay is in this episode. Song or the people? The song. But don't tell what song. I'm not going to. But Coldplay's song is in. It's used masterfully. Is it Fix You? Don't talk about it, but I will say it's not Fix You. It's not magic. that's all you get to work with so now Kristen's towards the end of her thing I've screamed it's good it's good and then the Coldplay song hits and then the last couple lines and she can hear me I have like some predictable sounds I make as if I'm approaching crying and a nervous laugh is kind of a part of it too so I think she's in there and she hears like

1:01:34I'm all by myself in the bed she's in the bed she goes are you crying in there and I go, no, fighting my heart is not to, but I definitely want to. That's Scrubs. That's the tone. That's the whole show. I didn't know we went there in the show. It caught me by surprise. We also break your heart. But it's not saccharine. It was like John C. McGinley says to you, I'm not saying it. I'm just saying he says something to you. He says something. Come on. He's going to say lots of things to you. By the way, I love to hear that you and Kristen have the relationship that I imagine in my mind. That it's like a Samsung commercial?

1:02:09Yeah, it feels like a Samsung commercial. Her yelling from the bathroom, you crying in there? Yeah, yeah, that's pretty much what's going on. Thank you. That means a lot to me. Yes, the show, part of the brilliance of the Bill Lawrence universe is that we make you laugh, and then all of a sudden we catch your heart. And I should give credit to Asim Batra, who is the current showrunner of the show, and her team of writers. We then catch you when you're not expecting it and hopefully break your heart a little bit. Yeah, you did it. Congratulations. You know, you reminded me, we have too much in common, not just our looks.

1:02:40I used to watch Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Do you remember this show? Sure, sure, sure. Man, could they pull on your heartstrings. When the reveal happens. Oh, yeah. When they would say, bus driver, move that bus. Uh-huh. And I remember just sometimes they would have a special needs child and they would have built a special thing for the child. And I just remember not just crying, but making like...

1:03:06making noises. They were involuntary. Yeah. You never think to do them in a scene where you're supposed to cry. No, but you know when you're, you're just, there's a tear falling, but it doesn't stop there. Your body goes, and you didn't plan your body. Yeah. Stay tuned for more armchair expert. If you dare.

1:03:34Do you cry a lot in life? Not in life, but I love more than anything when a movie or a TV show moves me to tears. I love that feeling. But not in life. Because maybe that's why you guys make all these gurgles. I hadn't cried from, I think, nine years old. So when my best friend went to the hospital seven years ago, so whatever that is. 35 years. Wow. And now I have these little beautiful girls and they sing songs on stage and I cry. I'm now starting to cry more and more and more to the part where it's almost untendable. I have had a couple of big cries here when we're interviewing people. Monica's like, OK, we've hit the limit.

1:04:09He's cried enough. I'm kidding. No. You shut down his crying? No, but sometimes I'm like, again, the line you worry about is that it doesn't seem genuine. It is genuine. I'm here to tell everyone it is genuine. But sometimes you're like, well, you can't cry at this because this isn't a big enough thing. It's kind of like when you're making a movie. The character can really only have two crying moments max. Yeah, exactly. You're starting to exceed your crying moments. That's right. If you're talking about a daughter, anyone who's got a daughter story or it's a daughter telling me about how she feels about her dad, that's a guess.

1:04:41I'm done. I have two little girls. That's all I think about. It's just a fast pass. I've cried from the horrible things that have happened, but I don't in my daily life cry much. But I love the feeling, whether it's a play, if it's a TV show, if it's a movie, where I feel it coming. It's wonderful. Okay, I have some now personal questions. What is your relationship with your looks? I don't want to compare it to where mine have evolved. When I was younger, there was no one calling me hot. And I was very insecure about how I was going to make it in Hollywood. Because I would go on these auditions and I would sit in the waiting room and I would look at all of these beautiful men who were hot.

1:05:18And they were reading for the part. And I was like, I'm not going to get this part. I don't look like that. And that made me very insecure. I think there's two sides of that coin. I had that experience. And then also I'd be at the commercial audition for Arby's and I was like, I don't look character enough either. I'm not goofy enough looking to get all these funny, goofy roles and I'm not handsome enough. I feel like I'm just caught in this purgatory doldrums of I'm not goofy looking and I'm not attractive. I felt the same way. Right out of school, I got, well, even before school, I got cast.

1:05:50as Woody Allen and Diane Keaton's son in Manhattan Murder Mystery. Even though it was a small part, I knew I'd beaten everyone in town out for it. Yeah, yeah. Because who wouldn't have wanted that part? So I got a little bit of confidence at 18. Then I went to school and learned filmmaking and studied acting, and I got out of school. And the first thing I got was a very high-profile production of Macbeth in New York, starring Alec Baldwin, Angela Bassett, Liev Schreiber, Michael C. Hall. George C. Wolfe directed it, huge theater director. I was the young guy who played two different young roles.

1:06:21And so that kind of gave me like a, whoa, I just got a really big part for a young guy created a college. So I did start to have a little bit of confidence that I could act. But when I came out here and I saw how pretty everybody was, I was concerned that I wasn't going to book TV. And I didn't really. I would never make it very far and never for a love interest kind of thing. I just wasn't getting that. It was frustrating. When I was waiting tables out here in 99, I was thinking like, gosh, I don't know. Maybe I should have stayed in New York. The cool indies were at that point coming out of New York.

1:06:50And theater, there's not that same bar. No, a theater is going to choose the best actor. That's right. Yeah, yeah. It's a meritocracy. And then Scrubs happened, which is though Bill knew me and studied me and wrote a part for me. It was so tailor-made for me. And then, of course, it goes without saying that Bill and I ended up having the exact same sense of humor. That's what gave me my big break. But the first thought I had was, oh, this is going to help me get my movie Garden State made. Because no one was going to fucking cast me in Garden State if I hadn't written it. Yes, yes. So I knew maybe you had felt the same way that I'm going to have to create stuff for myself.

1:07:21Yes. So my journey is like, hated how I looked, was bummed. I've gotten older and older and older. I like how I look now, especially at 51. And then even crazier, I wonder if you're having this experience. Without naming names, there was a whole legion of our peers that objectively, for sure, in our 30s and 40s, I'm like, that guy is so much better looking than me. It's insane. A bunch of those dudes. And now, because of this war of attrition and the longevity, a lot of these guys I'm looking around, I'm like, I don't think that anymore. That's my journey with it. Some of my peers have fallen off, and it's crazy to know when you should wish for what.

1:07:58I don't know that I feel that. I do see people getting plastic surgery, which I think is crazy. Well, the other thing I want to talk about is you and I clearly haven't had facelifts. But I want to know if you think about it. I do do this in the mirror, though. I tell you, before I've seen a bunch go awry, I might have. But I do this, and we both have this thing down to this. They're called festoons. Oh, we know. He knows all about the students. And it's genetic. So I, of course, in the mirror, sometimes on scrubs, and I'm like in the makeup trailer going like, can you do this? And they're like, no, we can't do that.

1:08:26That's plastic surgery. Also, don't do that. You looked crazy. That did not look good. No, but my point is, of course, it had crossed my mind being vain and insecurity, but I've seen enough people go awry that I'm not going anywhere near it. Well, yeah, that's what I want to talk about. So A, I have zero judgment if someone does it. I don't give a fuck if anyone gets a face-up. Yeah, yeah, that's great. Cut to me like being on the show in five years. I know. Remember when I said. Two, I go to the dentist, I whiten my teeth. There's a lot of things I do and I work out like crazy because I want my body to look a certain way.

1:08:57Like I'm vain. I just wonder if you're caught in this cycle of thought. Most of the time, I'd say a good 80 % of the time, I'm like, this is actually kind of cool. I'm going to be one of the few people that didn't have a facelift and I'm going to look weirdly authentic. And I think that's going to have some weird value. Like, I think I'm choosing the right path. 20 % of the time, I'm like, this is crazy. Why wouldn't I? I have the money and I am vain. I also. But aren't you worried? To me, the fact that it can go awry. Like, I never got LASIK because I don't know what minuscule percentage of cases of LASIK go awry, but I never got LASIK because like my eyes are my whole life.

1:09:32And that might be totally neurotic and crazy, but I feel like, oh my gosh, your face. And also, if you and I all of a sudden. We had tiny butt noses. If we had little cute noses. and a fucking pronounced chin and a jawline. Wouldn't people be like, what the fuck did you do? Yes, they would. They would. And you had no festoons. Don't you think, I mean, you say this all the time, like what's attractive about people is the differences. It's not for some people, obviously it is, but it's like the classic looking cookie cutter is not what's interesting. No, truly. And everyone's starting to meld into one look.

1:10:09I think it helps us that we're the age we are because I'm playing a grizzled cop, a dad. The parts are different. You're not trying to be the leading man who gets the girl. I was never competing for those roles, really. I did one or two of those, but I was never going to be the Glenn Powell of the moment. Yeah. Okay, now I'm going to put you on the spot, and this is to answer my own curiosity because I'm so interested in all the parallels. But when you directed A Good Person, you had reached out to me a couple of times about AA. Yeah. And I don't know if what I said was helpful or not. It was very helpful, thank you.

1:10:39You were the first person I reached out to because I started writing this movie about recovery. As I was just brainstorming and getting the story right, I didn't want to go down any wrong paths. And you helped me right off the bat clear up some questions I had. My main complaint about when I see it in movies is everything's so heavy and so important. And when someone's sharing, it's like they're about to die. And I'm like, everyone has the biggest sense of humor about all the wreckage they've had. That is not the vibe ever. Yeah. Even when it's tragic, that's just not our vibe. But at any rate, I have come to learn that a good person was really you kind of processing through this movie, both your sister, one of your best friends who was living with you during COVID, who died of COVID, which is insane at 41.

1:11:22He's got to be one of the very few young people that went down like that. And although those aren't directly the storylines, they're you dealing with that. Yeah, I wrote a good person during COVID. My sister died of an aneurysm. My best friend was living in my guest house and he got COVID at 41. In March, at the very beginning. Right at the beginning. Yeah. His wife, Amanda Kloots, is a known influencer and actress and performer. And she was very public about it because she wanted to share with people that this could happen to a 41-year-old. And he never came out of the hospital. Again, it was very early on and they didn't know a lot of things.

1:12:01I can't help but think if it had been today, it would have been a very different outcome. Yeah. Yeah. And your dad also died. My father died of cancer. My manager, I don't know if you ever knew Chris Huvane. Did you ever know Chris Huvane? Oh yeah, I knew. He died by suicide. He took his own life. So all of this happened. I didn't know what to do with it all. When you start to write something, I don't know if you feel this way. I don't always know what it's going to be about. Right. You just start to say, this character's on my mind. This scene's on my mind. This image is on my mind. And so what came out was a good person.

1:12:31It ended up being a story about grief. There is recovery as a character in the story, but it's really about grief. So the thing I've been curious about you for 25 years is what's your relationship with alcohol and drugs or was there ever dicey period? That's a good question. No one's ever asked me that. Maybe Rich Roll, who actually helped me a lot. I don't know if you're friends with Rich. I'm not. I keep hearing his name and I've never watched the show. I watched it because you were on it. Oh my God. You would be best friends with the guy. I feel like it from what I just saw. You have so much in common?

1:12:58Yeah. We'd either hate each other or love each other. You know, You can go either way when you're similar. No, you have a lot in common. He's a fitness nut. He's a marathoner. He's one of those extreme guys. He was an addict and completely changed his life around. And now he has a very successful podcast. You have a lot in common. And he loves his wife and kids. Yeah. I definitely have had binge drinking problems in my life. My problem with alcohol was never, oh, I want to drink at noon. And so I rationalized that just drinking a fuckton on a Saturday night until you blacked out wasn't an alcohol problem.

1:13:29Right, right, right. Also, you have depression and anxiety. Depression, anxiety, the works. Do you have ADHD, do you think? No, I definitely had panic attacks and OCD and all that stuff. What about cocaine? Did you ever powder your nose? Because that's a very good drug. Are you afraid to say that in public? No, I never got into cocaine. I used to smoke a lot of weed, but ultimately that wasn't for me. College age, me and older, but then I got sick of it. So was there ever a point where you're like, oh, I got to kind of get this on the rails? Yeah, I think I had some embarrassing experiences where I was just drinking too much.

1:14:01They accumulated. And so I reached out to Rich Roll, actually, because he had had a guy on his podcast that if anyone's listening to this, this is speaking to you, I would watch this episode. The program was called One Year No Beer. And it was an English guy who was just in the business world and his whole career was drinking. It was pints. Every day he had to go for pints at lunch and pints after. And he did Blow and I believe in all sorts of things. And his episode of Rich Roll really spoke to me, not because I had that kind of relationship with alcohol, but because he said, go on this journey and see what your life is like without it.

1:14:34I think it's worth your time to see out of curiosity, A, can you not drink? Because that's something you should know. And B, you should be curious to see how you feel without it. Yeah. And I had never done that. Richard is the one who I reached out to because he was a big inspiration to me. And I watched that guy's podcast and we eventually had him on our podcast. and I did a month with actually no alcohol in my body. And then I did another month and everything he was saying started to come to fruition that I was feeling better overall, less depression. Part of his whole thing is you are taking an antidepressant and pounding a depressant at the same time, which is nuts if you think about it.

1:15:11And he said, if you drink a couple times a week, the alcohol never fully leaves your system. So you always have this low grade chemical in your body, a depressant. And so I started to feel everything that he was talking about. Once I flushed the depressant out of my body, I was feeling lighter. I was having more energy. I was feeling happier. For me, I was like, oh, mornings are nice. Mornings hadn't been nice for 12 years. Well, and also a hangover at 50. I mean, you haven't experienced this. I mean, I know what they were at the dog days of my 29th year. They were fucking insurmountable, which is why I had to start drinking in the morning.

1:15:45They were too much. Yeah. So anyway, that I, out of curiosity, I ended up doing 13 months, never touching booze. Yeah. And totally reset my relationship to it. What were the down river results? Did you start looking at your romantic relationships differently in that period? Do you know if there was any kind of ancillary effects? I know that I had a lot more energy and I wasn't this depressed and I overall 100 % felt better. It was almost the most valuable ingredient of the antidepressant. It was almost like in not taking it, it was like taking the best antidepressant. Right, right. Just omitting.

1:16:19So if you're listening to this and you're taking antidepressant and you're drinking several times a week, I'm here to tell you. You're listening. If you happen to be listening. You happen to be sitting within four feet of me. It's something you should try. Oh, is this your story? You should watch this podcast. I'm telling you, it really made me want to try. And by the way, it isn't about you're going to give up alcohol forever. I drink wine maybe once a week at dinner with friends socially. I don't get drunk anymore. It's about a, seeing what it feels like when it's fully out of your system, at least try two months and you'll notice it.

1:16:48I kept feeling so good. I did 13 months, but then I went back to a place. Okay. I don't have a problem. I don't want to binge drink anymore. So you've broken the habitual nature of it. So it's like now it has a different. Also no more booze. I don't do spirits at all. I'll sip wine at dinner. I'll have a mimosa at brunch. I don't get hammered anymore because I just didn't like myself like that. But my point is, since we're pointing at you, it is an interesting experiment to just see what you feel like a month and then do two months. Then you kind of get excited. And also another ancillary thing, not that you have this problem at all, but as a fitness person, the weight just falls off of you.

1:17:22Oh yeah. I lost like 20 pounds in the first four months. I got lean in a way I had never seen my body. That was kind of exciting. Taking photos, I would love to see. I sent them to But also sometimes, you said sometimes people can gain weight because they're filling the sugar loss with sugar, sugar. It is very common for people to get out of treatment who are like hardcore alcoholics. I also want to say, and Dax, you should help me say this correctly. This is for someone who was not drinking any amount of alcohol. No one should go cold turkey if they have a serious alcohol problem. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

1:17:55You might want to be medically supervised. If you experience the DTs when you don't drink. I just want to be careful. I was just binge drinking, not just. I was binge drinking, not drinking every day. I was just binge drinking. Officer, I'm just binge drinking. But there's so many ways for alcohol to be a problem. Either you're binge drinking or you're drinking moderately, but every day. You know, you've seen the trends of next generation drinking your way down. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. And isn't it insane to think how alcohol was marketed to us our whole lives? Talk about successful marketing. Our whole lives, fun is alcohol.

1:18:28Yeah, yeah, yeah. All those ads, you are not going to the beach. You are not going to the game. You are not hanging out with friends unless you're drinking. Absolute Vodka had such a successful campaign because they did really cool variations of their ad and magazines and stuff. The swimming pools. Yeah. And I had a whole wall of them. My parents didn't care because they thought, oh, he's into graphic design. But I had a whole wall in my bedroom that was Absolute Vodka ads. And in hindsight, I think, God, it was brilliant marketing. We were just fed that if you're a human and you want to have a good time, alcohol needs to be a part of it.

1:19:00That was never a question. And we all have some varying degrees of social anxiety and it helps with that. So either the young people who don't do it as much, that's on a downward trend. And then the increase in GLP-1 users. So even people that are older, now so many people are in GLP-1s and that reduces your drinking like crazy. What's GLP-1? Maggiornal, Trisepetide, Ozempic. Ozempic. I know it is Ozempic. That makes people not want to drink. Oh, my God. Yeah. Like people who were three glass a night wine drinkers are a half a glass and they don't even really want it. Oh, that's interesting. Oh, that's almost like across the board.

1:19:35Yours went down, right? Your frequency is the same, but your intake is less. Yeah. Is there talk that it could be helpful for people in recovery? There is talk. Yeah, yeah. I don't know who's launching the study or funding it, but it's being observed nonstop. There's all these off-label effects of this drug. We've only had 30 doctors on here to say like, it is the most miracle-y drug we've had in the last 60 years. Not just for weight loss. No, because once you're on it, all your metabolic conditions start getting better. So Alzheimer's, heart disease. It just reduces inflammation kind of in total.

1:20:12Yeah, and you're satiated, so you don't desire alcohol. It's insane how many positive effects. Wow, I feel like I should go on Osempic. Let's get you on a GLP one. You're very thin. Thank you. It's not for weight loss. So originally I was like, I want to see what it does to my cholesterol. I have high cholesterol, so it's supposed to be good for that. And then, yeah, we just had so many people on that are like, it's great for your brain markers. It's great for this. If you have dementia in your family. We're in an Alzheimer's study with one of the premier Alzheimer's experts in the world. And he's a thin guy who's on it.

1:20:43And he's like, yeah, it has a lot of beneficial effects on a lot of these markers we look at for Alzheimer's. Wow. If you don't have the food chatter, I will say, which I don't, you do have to remind yourself to eat. You do have to be like, I need to eat breakfast now. If you start, yeah, without food chatter. Because you'll get too thin. Yeah, and you got to eat food. You know, you got to eat the things you're supposed to eat. Yeah, I think some people get too thin on that stuff. It can be slippery, so you have to monitor it. Oh, yeah. Like anything, it's going to be abused. You must have to eat a lot to maintain muscle mass.

1:21:13Or do you do protein shakes? I do protein scoops in my oatmeal every morning. I have the most boring diet in the world. I am such a creature of habit. I eat the same exact thing almost every meal. That helps you not have to think about it. Yes, and I am very ADHD. So routines work great for me. So I do the same thing every morning from the meditation to the journal to the when I get my coffee to when I'm allowed to look at my phone. Then when I get to have my oatmeal, I'm like Rain Man in some ways. And I'm happiest. Can you count cards? Yes. Well, Zach, I adore you. I'm probably more interested in you.

1:21:46That's what I'm sensing. I enjoy watching our like parallel journeys. When I see you in a T-Mobile commercial, it's not like when I see Faison in the T-Mobile commercial or any other actor. I go like, oh yeah, there I am in this commercial. Where's my chest? How are we aging? Oh, we both haven't had facelifts yet. I was watching Scrubs, the reboot, and I'm like, God, his fucking hair's still gorgeous. I battle to keep mine. Oh, really? I have a topical eyedropper I have to use twice a day and it makes my hair greasy. Oh yeah, I see the receding now. Yeah. You know, I don't normally rock this clean cut fade, the Dax Shepard clean clothes fade.

1:22:24So we're a little closer now. We're graying in a similar way. The sides are gray, but the top's still hanging in there a bit. You don't do anything to maintain your hair? Nothing. Nothing. You're so lucky. I just have to meet my Kristen Bell. Well, how has that evolved? Because if I can be critical, I've bumped into you over the years and you've often been with very attractive, slightly younger girls. Or often that's been the case. Not always. Not always. Of course, that's been a critique, but not always. Oh, is that a popular critique? I haven't heard that as a popular critique. You don't make those lists of like.

1:22:55No, no. But with Florence, of course I did because we had an age gap, but that's not been the rule for me. I have a crush on someone. Have you evolved in relationships? What were you doing wrong that you know that you're going to try to do right? Not just looking for adrenaline of the moment looking for something that could be long-term and a life partnership. Like reorganizing the top five attributes we're attracted to type of thing? Perhaps. Also, because I'm 50 years old, I don't know if I'm past the age of having children or not. I don't think so. I know a lot of people your age have kids.

1:23:30I guess I'm open to the idea. I mean, not that you should if you don't want them. No, but I'm saying I think it took me reaching this age to be like, I'm open to either way. I would fall in love with whomever the universe puts in front of me without being attached to the notion that I should have children or not, which is something that I've pivoted on. Do you think you used to potentially pick partners that when you walked into a room, you felt proud to have them on your arm? Oh, I think I've always had that, but that might not be just their looks. I wouldn't be in with someone that I wasn't so proud to have as my girlfriend, whether it be her sense of humor.

1:24:05Do you think that's changed though into more personality over time? Or has that always been the case? I don't know. Well, in your first interview, we did talk about your schooling experience and then going away to camp and that you were the king of camp and then you would return to school. And so I think when someone's had that experience and they have a lot more options at their disposal, I've yet to meet the person who doesn't want to explore those options. Yeah. I did too for a long time. Yeah. Yeah. And I've definitely did that. Now I'm ready to settle down. 50. You had a great run. Yeah, it's never too late.

1:24:38You can also be like, there's these dudes, they're 85, and they never decide to do that. And I guess that's fine for them. That's just not me. Do you remember that line in This Is 40 where I think it's Jason Segel. He says, I'm going to Clooney it. Yeah, but look at what Clooney did. I know, but at the time, he goes, I'm not Clooney it. And then, what's her name? I forgot the actress. She says, he has sad eyes.

1:25:02What's Chet Apatow's wife's name? Leslie Mann. I think it's Leslie Mann. I was in the growlings with her. I'm going to Clooney it. He has sad eyes. He has very happy eyes. Great at selling tequila. Thank you for having me. Yeah, yeah. It was so fun. And thank you most importantly for liking my show. It means a lot to me. Yeah, it's a good show. It's a good show. It's good. Kristen, it's a good show. I don't know what to say. It's good. You can't say anything else about it. It's really good. Oh, you're going to love it, Monica. It has the same spirit. If you like to laugh and then all of a sudden wonder why there's tears in your We got a show for you.

1:25:33All right. I wish you well. Everyone check out Scrubs airing on ABC February 25th and Hulu the day after. Thank you. You're welcome. I sure hope there weren't any mistakes in that episode, but we'll find out when my mom, Mrs. Monica, comes in and tells us who's wrong. Jumping right in. Let's hop in. Great. Whoa. Yeah. Whoa, whoa, whoa. I know. That's a big pivot. Okay. But I do want to talk about it. Okay. Because I toured the Rape Treatment Center, which is here in Los Angeles, UCLA. Oh, okay. In Westwood? Yeah. It's connected to UCLA Hospital. Like, it's right there by the hospital. That hospital is really nice, by the way.

1:26:18Yeah, I visited some friends there. Yeah, I didn't realize how nice it was. But, you know, it's one of those things where I went to the gala last year. Uh-huh. And I was like, oh, I didn't know anything about it. And I was sort of taken, you know, it's like, oh, that's like a beautiful thing. They, the services they provide, which basically if you go there, if you've been raped or law enforcement brings you there, you go not to the ER. You go to this separate area and they talk to you. They do an exam. Is it not called the rape kit? You're not sure. I think they don't really call it that anymore.

1:26:58The rape kit is the actual, there is a kit. And it has like your barcode on it. It has all like, you know, the samples and stuff like that. But yeah, we walked through the whole thing and like what it's like. And then it's beautiful. Like it's really like nicely done. It's warm instead of sterile. Exactly. It makes you feel like you have some choice in the matter and dignity. And then, so it's the rape treatment center. And then next to it is the Stewart house, which is for children. Okay. And that also like. Oh, sexual abuse? Yes. Okay. And there's like a beautiful waiting room and there are volunteers that go and like hang out with the kids.

1:27:38And then there's like a pretend courtroom in there that they like fully make to look like a courtroom. So they can practice. They can practice and understand like where everyone's sitting. And, you know, because often like, you know, the it's they're like stepdad or something sitting, you know, and it's helping them process all that anyway. And then they offer free therapy, free legal. There's a free legal team. I mean, it's really incredible. Did they tell you what kind of volume they have? Too much. Okay. They said too much. No, there are real numbers that I don't really remember. but I will say that day, just while we were there.

1:28:22For how long were you there? The whole thing, probably an hour, hour and a half. Three different kids were using the courtroom. So, you know, and it's 24 seven open 24 seven. It's very, it's very remarkable. It's only 10 % funded federally. So 90 % donation. Oh, lovely. And that's why they're really able to like do all of this. And a lot of other places that are fully federally funded are like closing or aren't a lot. There's a lot of now spillover here, which is great. I just want people to know that that's an option if they live in Los Angeles. Yeah, yeah. It's a really cool thing they're doing there.

1:29:08And I was very moved by it. And of course, I was saddened, but I was also like, but it's hopeful. This is positive. Yeah. Yeah. Now, okay, now for tricky questions. Okay. It was a gala of sense, right? It's to raise money. Yeah. So did you feel at all a little weird, like being super dressed up and looking nice and being there? Oh, for the actual gala? Yeah. It was daytime cocktail. Okay. So it wasn't like. You know what I'm saying, though? Like to be like dolled up at a place like that? Do you feel, is it like. Well, the gala wasn't there. Okay, okay, okay, okay. Yeah, yeah. All right, I see.

1:29:43So you went to a gala and then you went and toured it. Exactly. Much different. Yeah, sorry. You see what I'm saying, though? If you were like, the red carpet was in front of the entrance, it would feel tricky. It wasn't there. It was at the Skirball Center. Okay, okay, okay. So, yeah, the gala happened. And then because I was like, oh, wow, I was learning about it. And I thought it was so special what they do. And, you know, there were people telling their stories. And I was like, I want to learn more about this. So that's when we scheduled the tour. Okay, okay. And anyone can take a tour. They're very like open to having, because it's very hard to just like talk about and tell people what they do.

1:30:19But when you're there and you really see, it is like, it's very moving. So I left my parents at home. For that event. To go do that. Were they invited or you just thought this isn't for them? I didn't invite them. I told them what I was doing. You could have brought them. Probably, yeah. Yeah. I'm sure I could have, yeah. Right. But then. I didn't want it. Yeah, yeah. Plus I didn't want, I don't know. They're on vacation. Yeah. They just got in and I was like, I'm going to go to do this rape treatment center. So how is your visit going? You're on probably what day six of them? Yes. They leave tomorrow.

1:30:56Uh-huh. They leave tomorrow. Yeah. They've been staying at my house with me for a week. And you know, that can get tricked. Well, I stopped by to hang out with them yesterday. I hadn't had a chance to sit with them. And we had a great 90 minute. what's fun is you and I know that we don't ever talk about politics you and I right well we if we do it ends up badly yeah so we we really don't like I yeah like I haven't I have a hunch of what your opinions are on a lot of things but I really don't know and I don't think you know and I think we've agreed that's for the best for us but your parents are political hounds so I knew like oh good like I was actually excited like oh I bet we're gonna argue about politics which is fun I I know, which I know.

1:31:38I felt like I was like, what's, how's this going to play out? Yeah, because I thought it was, I knew it was going to go good. Or I felt like it was going to, I was like, oh, this will be a fun way for you and I to talk about politics, which is so dicey, but somehow they're going to neutralize. Like they're a buffer or something? They're going to neutralize it. Right. Which I think they did. Yeah. Yeah. Because we got into all of it. And I haven't really, I avoid it in general, not just with you. I really don't care what anyone's political opinion is. And no one needs to hear mine, really. I have, of course, an opinion on every single thing.

1:32:12But, yeah, we just got into it. It's been a while. But we weren't fighting. No, no, we weren't. Which was good. I mean, we didn't agree on much stuff, but we weren't fighting. Yeah. I thought we agreed on something. We also agreed on a lot of stuff. I should say that, too. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But. But your parents are incredibly well-informed. Yes. And this is a topic they talk about a lot. Yes. And it's interesting, too, because I think Indians in general are really political. Like we saw that in the Hassan thing, which was interesting. Your dad was just telling us yesterday that like Kerala is one of the only places in India where they're not divided up into ethnic groups or religions as much as they're they're divided up politically.

1:32:52Yes. So it's like there'll be 10 Christians and three Muslims and nine this and that. But they're they're politically aligned. Yeah, because in other parts of India, there's big rifts in religion. Yeah, and they mostly are congregated over religion or probably some ethnicity. Yes. But not in Kerala. So it's like also he comes from a place that's clearly quite political. Yeah, yeah. And my grandpa. Yeah. So they're just very political by nature. They are. I think also part of that has to do with the generation, like the generations that come here. They need to know what's going on in America as people that immigrated.

1:33:29You know what I mean? They feel like they need to be pretty informed. sure but I am around a lot of first generation Latinos and I don't hear them talking politics as much yeah that's probably that might be true yeah but anyways we covered it all man we had Epstein we had the war we had the election we ran through all the hot button topics and when I left no one was mad at each other that was fun yeah so it's been good they love the house which is really nice and it's been a way different kind of trip than normal because of the house, because I've had a place for them to be where they can like just watch TV and hang out.

1:34:09When I came in, your dad was on the patio doing God knows what he's doing. And your mom's watching TV. Yeah. She's been binging some shows that I told her to binge. So yeah, it's been more relaxed, which has been nice. Of course, there's little things, but that's light. That's family, you know? That's family. Jess taught them spades. Now, this was funny. So I have to admit that I made a bad stereotype judgment. Okay. I had it in my head that I was like, oh, it would be really fun if we were playing cards. I wish they knew spades. And I said to Jess, oh, I wish my parents knew spades. And he said, oh, I can teach them.

1:34:51And in my head, I was like, no, that's not going to work out. They don't play cards. They don't play cards. They don't know what cards are. Right. They're like seahorses. Exactly. Exactly. And then the four of us were having a drink and I was like, oh, I wonder if you guys would want to play spades. Do you ever play cards? And my mom was like, no, no, I don't play cards. Not no, I wouldn't want to learn. And then my dad was like, yeah, like I play cards. And he said, there's a game in Kerala called 56, which is kind of, he was like, if you grew up there, you know how to play it. It's like basically the state game.

1:35:30The official game of the state. That's basically what he said. Yeah. And he said, and it's like, like bridge. And there's bedding and there's all the, and he was saying, and I was like, oh, it sounds spades-ish. So. Because spades is bridges as well. Exactly. And he said, my grandpa used to play. And I was like, oh man, like, I wish I knew all of this. Anywho. So my mom's like, yeah, let's learn. So Jess teaches us. And it's so, it is so funny what happens immediately. Their personalities come out so quickly where my dad is like, oh yeah. And I know. And then you do this and then you do this and I already know.

1:36:10And then you're going to like, he's such a know-it-all. To remind you of the first time you played with me. I mean, I mean, I don't want to make the comparisons, but he is such a know-it-all. And then what is annoying is he's a know-it-all, but he does know. He's good. He is good at it. Like, I was impressed. I was like, oh, my God. Yeah. Because he already knew strategy. He was already counting the cards. He was like, that's already been played. I was like, oh, my God. Yeah, yeah. And my mom is like, I'm not going to, I don't know. this is going to take so long for me to learn. We're going to have to do a lot of practice.

1:36:49Like she's like nervous that the rest of us already know and she doesn't know. And we're all like, it's fine. You're learning. And she just keeps saying it over and over again, which was getting annoying. Sure, sure, sure. You would also want for her to be in her 60s, had an incredibly impressive career as a computer programmer. She shouldn't feel like, oh, they think I'm dumb. If anyone's earned, like, She should be able to stumble through it and just go like, well, yeah, they know I'm fucking smart. And that is a bummer. And I think we all have a fantasy we're going to transcend our insecurities.

1:37:25But I don't know that you do. Well, and she is so smart. And I've never heard her not think that about herself. It was weird. I was like, yeah, what's she doing? Like, it's fine. But she literally didn't even know, like, the suits and stuff. She's never. So she more was seahorse. Yeah, she was seahorse. Yeah. Even though she grew up here, so that was my stereotype. Not, you know, not at its best. Really backfired on both fronts. It did. If one of the two of them should have known cards, it would have been her. That's what I think. According to your stereotype, and it was reversed. It was reversed.

1:37:58Yeah. So anyway, she learned, and then we finished, we started a game, and my dad and I were on the same team, and then Neil, I mean Neil, my mom and Jess. Freudian, yeah. Freudian, yeah. We're on the same team. And it was really fun. And then we finished our game yesterday. Oh, you did? You resumed it? Yes. So how did it conclude? My dad and I won. But kind of close. Very close, actually. And then it was also fun because my mom started doing moves, you know. And my dad was like, oh, that's a good move. Like, he was like getting impressed. Yeah, nice. The whole thing was very fun. They were getting flirty.

1:38:42If we're going to call it that, I suppose so. Do you hear footsteps to the next bedroom? No, ew, do not. I was on the verge when we were hanging out yesterday. There was a tiny lull in the political conversation. And I was like, it was on the tip of my tongue. It almost came out of my mouth like three times. I was going to say exactly this. Well, I keep asking Monica if you guys had any boyfriends or girlfriends before you got married. And she just has no idea. I was going to get it out of them while we were all together. And I was like, I don't know. Monica might be upset by this. So I resisted.

1:39:11resisted. I'm glad you resisted. But it was in the chamber. Yeah. Well, and then I made the right call. Yeah, you did. Anyway, so that was fun. I also got to say what was really funny is, so Saturday I had a burst of ambition. You did. And I was like, I'm going to handle everything that's been driving me crazy about my house for the last six months that I've been ignoring. There was a palm frond that was sitting in the bay laurel hedges that I've been staring at when I'm in the sauna for six months angry about yeah can't walk over there and do it was that it was i got a new rug for upstairs in the bathroom right and the door wouldn't clear it oh yeah i'm sure rob you experienced that did you notice today it clears just fine i noticed you cut the door because we're dealing with the same thing with our basement door right now so i took the door off the hinges i cut down the door re-hung the door wow clears like a fucking also i had got a new nightstand to match my other nightstand I had from 15 20 years ago okay these were chat rocks oh so I have this furniture I got an 80 hd buttercup I don't know what it is but I still love it okay right we still have some of the pieces my mom has a lot of them I gave her like my bed and stuff and so one of them now is in my clubhouse uh-huh that little nightstand that sits on the right of the uh couch and I love it.

1:40:30And then I took a picture of it and said to chat, hey, I bought this in like 2006 at HD Buttercup. Yeah. And it's like, oh, this is environment furniture. It was sold in these years at that store. Oh, that's cool. What you have is this exact thing. Let me scour the internet and find out if there are any for resale. Yeah. I'm like, that's insane. I could have never figured this out. That's amazing, yeah. So I found it? I didn't find that one, but I found another piece of their furniture, a different nightstand. So at least it's in the same vein. It's like this certain kind of wood that's reclaimed and then lacquered black.

1:41:07So I ordered one secondhand. So excited. It arrives. It's taller than the other one. So I've been sitting in my clubhouse staring at it on either side of the couch and it just wasn't right. So then I cut down the legs of that and made that the same. Okay, great. I was banging them out. You know, I'm infamous for underestimating underestimating how long things are going to take me as you know yes like i think i can power wash the driveway in like 45 minutes in six hours yep that's it wasn't happening today i was boogieing i got through all those things in probably like an hour and a half okay you love to do things so then my next thing was my gate has been getting hung up for six months on the cobblestone the gate is very heavy and over the two years since it's been installed it's sagged enough that it's hung up on the very jagged cobblestone okay so i ordered a stone chiseling kit wow and i'm like i'm gonna go chisel out these raised areas of the cobblestone so that the gate will close effortlessly and this one i was like we'll do that in 20 minutes and i was out there hammering yeah listen we've all heard the expression i've been breaking rocks all day that meant nothing to me.

1:42:19That's like, that's usually used to like, it's the worst thing you can do is break rocks all day. I'm here to say that is a great analogy. So I was on probably hour two, um, laying on my ground, hammering cobble. And all of a sudden I heard a car pull up and it was you and your family pulling into the neighborhood. Yeah, we were, we're pulling right in the neighborhood and you were, you were right there on the edge of the street, working on your, on your rocks banging the rocks yeah and so i ducked my head in the car and your mom was up front and she looked cute and then your dad looked six years old he was sitting in the back seat with a seatbelt on and he was holding a 12 pack of michelob well like on the side right yeah yeah like it was like on the seat like he had a baby next to him or something and he was probably wearing his hat yeah he just looked really cute it's like oh he got his 12 pack of michelob he He had his arm around it, you know.

1:43:12It was really. But we didn't want it to fall over. I know, but you were parked, you know. Oh, my God. Yeah. Yeah, we had stopped to get him his beer. And that's his brand. That's his brand because of blood sugar. Okay. That's a low glycemic index beer. Yeah. Okay. Good. I have a question. And this isn't in relation to your projects. Okay. Okay. It is or isn't. It is. Okay. Do you replace the filters on your furnace? Oh, I do, but not nearly enough. Okay. Yeah, I've been shamed a couple times. Gordon Key famously stayed at our house, and he went and replaced all of them. Yes, but now we're on a schedule, and Carly does it.

1:43:59Okay, so. Yeah, because in L.A., they get dirty way quicker than you'd imagine. I think that's part of my problem is growing up, I had to replace them for my mom. You did? Yeah, yeah. Okay. But rarely. They didn't get filthy. Like humidity keeps dust down. For many, many reasons, just LA's way dustier. Yeah, it's very dusty. And so, yeah, when I was living in that house, it was like I'd be sitting on the couch and all of a sudden I'd look up there. I'm like, oh, that motherfucker is black. And how long has it been black and I just hadn't seen it? Okay. Yeah. So this is part of having an engineer father, right?

1:44:35So, of course, I come down in the morning and he's like, so you have three. He's done his investigations. His analysis of the home. His inspection. Uh-huh. And he was like, do you know where your panel is? I was like, yes. But you didn't. I knew. Kind of. I kind of knew. But yesterday he was like, so, you know, remember you're going to have to replace the filters in the furnace every three months. And I was like, no, I don't. And I said that to him. Oh, okay. And he was like, yes, you have to do that. And I was like, well, I've never heard of that. I've never heard of that before. And I mean, are you doing that?

1:45:18And he was like, yes. Yeah. Dads are obsessed with my, Martin, my stepdad, thought about furnace filters more than anything else. Oh my God. It's a very dad thing to think about. I, of course, was like, oh, like I have a different kind. like I have an upgraded kind that won't need a replacement or something or else I would have known about this I was like I mean how would I not know about this if it's that if it's that like important exactly and then he was like no it is and so he was like you know running around looking for where they were and and he was showing there's the hygienic aspect but then they also start running way less efficiently because they're trying to suck air in through all this clogged filter.

1:46:00He was looking. He found the two and he was showing me. And I was like, I'm like pretty skeptical about this. I think he's being extreme because he is extreme. Like, you know, he's an engineer. So he's going to be very on top of all of this extra. And then though I started panicking. I was like, oh my God, like I can't have a house. There's so much stuff. Yeah, I can't have a house. I don't know all these things. If he hadn't said that, I would never know that. Yeah. You would have noticed at some point way too late. You'd have noticed like, oh my God, there's a black box behind that grill. What is that?

1:46:41And you'd realize, oh, that's a filter and it's filthy. So I was like, there's too many things now to consider that I don't know to think about. I don't even know. And then because then my mom kind of overheard. She was upstairs watching TV. And she said, what are you telling her? to do. And then he said, she has to replace those filters. And she said, she doesn't have to do that.

1:47:06And you know, you do. And I live by myself and I'm a homeowner and I'm going to have to do these things. Luckily. So of course I texted Bill, my contractor, best friend, another dad of mine. And I said, my dad, I don't know if he's just being like extra, but he says, I have to replace the filters in this. And he said, you do have to, but I'm going to give you basically how to run this house. Oh, great. Good. Now this is, you've wandered into what is sometimes the domestic conflict between men and women, because let's just say in my circle, what was universal is the moms are so mad at the dads around Christmas time because they don't do a lot of the Christmas present shopping or wrapping and that is a fact yeah and then the dads are kind of mad because the dads do this kind of stuff but the moms don't even know it needs to be done okay so like a lot of times i'm like yeah i know you're mad about the laundry i do the dishes i feel like that but even beyond that i don't think you know what i do yeah because you're not thinking about their filters or the cobblestone or all the little dumb things i do right that are like mechanical but you guys don't even know that that stuff needs to happen.

1:48:22So you have no kind of appreciation for it. You're mad at it. Don't include me. I don't have a husband. I'm not nagging a husband about anything. But I did think, at first I was like, oh my God, I can't do this. And then I thought, you know what? Wow. I'm going to be like very competent at running a house because I have to, I have no choice. There's no partner there to handle things. Yeah, you can't. I can't. I mean, I can hire people to help me, but I have to know what to hire them for. Like, so I decided to look at a glass half full. Yeah, you'll be very competent at the end of this. I'll be competent at running a house.

1:49:06Yeah, I can. I just need to know what it is I need to do. But Bill's going to help me with that. And of course, Bill was like, and I'm not going anywhere. You know, he's so nice to me. Yeah, he loves you. He's so nice. He loves his daughter. Does he have a child of his own or you're his only child? I think he has many because he has all these other clients. I'm not special. He has other clients. He's so nice. So my dad was right about that, I guess. I was like, I got to ask Dax. I bet he doesn't do it, but you do. I do it. And I'm aware of the fact that I should be doing it more. But we've hacked it because now it's just on the calendar.

1:49:43Right. And Carly does it. Yeah. It is like. I guess I can't really be too proud of myself. Okay. Well, that's honest. But there is some obvious domestic differences in running households. Classically, obviously, there's a lot of differences. And my dad does a lot of domestic stuff. He does the dishes. He does a lot. But yeah, because when my mom was like, she doesn't have to do that. he was like yes she does have to and she said she said something like something like she's a woman that made me mad that mobilized you yeah it did it did because also I said well no I am it's just me yeah yeah so yes I do have to do this you can't not do the things that need doing because you're a woman exactly yeah yeah so I'm going to be so competent soon I need to take a nap oh I know what I want to say And I don't know why I want to say, I think I want to encourage people to show their kids movies.

1:50:48Oh, all right. And I'm always struggling to like, what movie should I show? I know I want to watch a movie with generally Lincoln. Lincoln's now of an age where she can watch pretty much everything. So Moulin Rouge. A great movie. Had been forever. Like my daughter loves singing and musicals. And all of a sudden I'm like, oh my God, Moulin Rouge. How haven't I shown you that? So I showed her that that was a big hit. Yeah. And then the one that I just had a hunch she was going to love. And I bet you haven't seen this. Have you ever seen First Blood? No. The original Rambo? No. Okay, now I bet you're put off immediately by hearing Rambo.

1:51:23Yep. But when I want to compare it to, and it's a perfect comp, Rocky, the first one, was nominated for Best Picture. Right. Might have even won. Might have won that year. The subsequent Rockies are more cartoonish. They're more like superhero movies. He's less of a real person and whatever. But the first one is a legit masterpiece. Okay. He did win Best Picture for that. It won Best Picture. Yep, 1976. There you go. None of the other Rockies were going to even get nominated, right? Okay. The original Rambo First Blood is an incredible movie. And it's poignant. And it's really dealing with the issue of the times, which were like these kind of wayward Vietnam vets who were just back in America.

1:52:02And everyone hated them. And they had no role anymore. Yeah. It's a great movie. But he's immediately he wants to stop in this town to visit an old friend of his from Delta Force. He finds out that guy's dead. He's really sad. He wants to stop in this tiny little town in the Cascade Mountains in Washington and have a meal. But the sheriff does not want him there because he's clearly a Vietnam vet. And this escalates. They arrest him. He's having flashbacks. Anyways, it turns into a manhunt in the mountains. OK. And not only did she love it, what I loved was like, she loved it for the same reason I did as a kid.

1:52:42And even watching it again is like she wants to know if she could survive. Oh. She was like, I want to be chased and see if I could get away too. I'm like, yes, me too. Okay. Wow. Stay tuned for more Armchair Expert, if you dare.

1:53:09he has a knife and in the knife he's got matches and a kit to sew up his suture himself as he needs he's a one-stop shop for survival wow yeah and it's a really appealing tale if you have a nice personality type yeah to the degree that she's like i want to figure out how to have a birthday party that's like a survivor oh that's fun it sounds like a lot of moving parts for me it also sounds like you need a liability waiver for the people for friends yes we all have those knives you gotta have the knife yeah and who are we gonna defend ourselves again that's kind of fun like a survivor birthday party I took her to Charlie's son had a birthday party at paintball you may recall this Ace and the whole way she was like nervous was afraid it's all boys shooting paintballs at each other.

1:54:01And I just was like, honey, I just have a hunch you're going to love this, actually. And she loved it the most. She was so into it. So paintball's kind of that. You get to see if you can survive and outfox the other people. Or what's that called? Laser tag. Laser tag, yeah, that's like a more G-rated version. That's fun. Yeah, I mainly just kind of hid. I was in defensive mode. That's how I survived. That's a good strategy. Yeah, that's my strategy. I don't know that that movie is going to be for me. No, it's a great movie. Okay. Kristen was watching it too. And she was like, oh my God, this, I can't believe this is such a great movie.

1:54:34I would have never thought Rambo, John Rambo was a good movie. To the point where she went to bed early and we finished it. And then she woke up in the morning and finished it. I think that's a testament. Okay. That is good. Yeah. One other thing now that we're talking about things you've, we've watched. Yeah. I started DTF St. Louis. It's fun. Are you, you're watching it? Yep. I mean, I only watched the first episode. I started the second episode. It's so good. Of course, Stephen Conrad. Stephen Conrad, The Patriot, your favorite show. Favorite show. Created it and wrote it. Watched four times.

1:55:11It's Bateman. It's David Harbour. And it is so good. I can't wait. It is so funny and weird and very him. Very Stephen Conrad where it's like, what is this? It's like tonally, but oh my God. I was like dying laughing. Oh, I can't wait. They're so good in it. Kristen has gone back to work, so it's kind of tricky. Oh, right. That's a show I'm not allowed to watch. Sure. On your own. Yeah. Well, it's fantastic. Yeah, that's the only reason I haven't seen it yet. I want to be clear because I'm an ultimate Stephen Conrad fan. Highly recommend it. It has a Peyronie's disease reference in it. Yeah, it does.

1:55:53Yay. It does. ding ding ding which seems like it goes running after you oh wow it does he has Peroni I'm gonna feel very seen he has Peroni I don't have it anymore I have it yeah let's be clear you don't have it I don't have it I had it sure but you can heal from it which I did luckily it's you know that was also seeing David Harbour since all of the drama at first I was like it was like all I could think about you were distracted I was distracted by the drama I was like, oh, yeah, David Harbour. I mean, he's so good. It's crazy. He's a beast. He's so talented. It just made me think. I mean, I already think this isn't new for me.

1:56:37But I'm like, just like celebrity gossip is so annoying. Like, just let people do their jobs. Unless they're, of course, if they're hurting. I'm not abusing people. Sure. Abusing people. Yes, that's bad, clearly. And people need to go to jail. But I'm just like. I mean bad girlfriends and boyfriends. Yeah, I just don't need to hear about it anymore. I just want to be able to watch these people entertain. That's their job. I guess if I'm trying to be like third person observer of it, I'm an alien. I would imagine there's something comforting about knowing people that you feel like have too much good luck or good fortune are suffering and flawed is somehow comforting.

1:57:24I know, but like, yeah, schadenfreude, but it's annoying because, okay, so what if he didn't get that? obviously they had already shot I'm sure they had already shot that show by the time all this happened what if he didn't get it because of that like we'd all miss out on that performance like he's I don't know it's just I'm just I'm sick of celebrity talk okay okay anyway facts speaking of facts oh I have an update that leads right into facts right love it so the amanda pete episode yes was so fun in that i have now connected those two lake and amanda lake and amanda are now friends and they're chatting and i'm on a text thread with them right and i said you know what i have a concept already i had come up with for zach and i it's yours oh wow you handed that over so now it may come from them nature versus Nurture may come from us.

1:58:29We'll see. But I've gifted that concept to them if they want to explore it. Oh, so are you guys? Identical twins separated. Yeah. I mean, hijinks and zoos. Yeah. Is it like a race to see who? No, I wish them well. I'm not ready to go make a movie. All right. Yeah. I mean, I guess we are. It is like two episodes back to back that are doppelganger heavy. Yeah. Yeah. Which is kind of fun. Yeah. Oh, other updates. Sorry from Amanda Peet. Amanda Anka. Ding, ding, ding. Said. Right? She's married to Bateman, right? Oh, yeah. And she's married to Bateman. Yeah. But she came up. She did, yes. Amanda was suggesting that she probably had done all this new moon stuff.

1:59:10Oh, yeah. And she told me that, well, let me see exactly. She participated in some. Okay. Okay. She wants. I hope she didn't cut her hair. Funny you would say that. No cinnamon or salt, but I would not wash my hair. Good. That was her text. Good for her. Did she wear red? I said, and did you wear red? She said, socks. I usually sneak the red. Okay. Yeah, that's fine. That'll work. I was told you can do even your underwear as long as it's something. That'll prevent the jinxing. Yeah. Speaking of that, my mom, I just forget. She is so superstitious. And every time we're at a restaurant and we have a drink, we cheer.

1:59:54We always have to cheers. and she always says to good luck and good fortune. I think something like that. Good health and good fortune. I forget it, but she has to say it every time. And if she does, it's like, you know, it's a panic. We got to say it. Who knocks on wood first when you guys are together? Her. Her. She's beating you to the knock on wood. I think. Maybe. Probably same time. Perfectly synchronized probably. But it was funny because we were talking about the, we're talking about these superstitions and like cracks, cracks in the sidewalk, you know, not walking on cracks in the sidewalk and stuff.

2:00:25And my dad was like, cracks? What cracks in the sidewalk? There aren't any cracks in the sidewalk. And she was like, yeah. And I said, yeah, you know, when the two pieces meet, he said, oh, the joints. You know, he knows all this verbiage. He's like, oh, the joints. No, those are there to prevent cracks. It's true. I was like, oh, wow. Yeah. He was like, so you can step on those. They're crack prevention. Exactly. Okay, this is also ding, ding, ding, because we're talking about shows. I started the new Scrubs since, and as I think I mentioned, I loved the original Scrubs so much. So tell me, I hadn't watched the first, but to me, it seems like they did it.

2:01:07That's the exact same show. They nailed it. It's so good. And that tone is so specific. Those jokes are so specific. the writing like is all I can't believe they're able to do it again and recreate it and have them all be older and it's still work and it is it's spectacular that has to be quite a challenge yeah they really they hats off congrats guys um to good luck and good fortune it did make me it did make me I cried of course because like that's what they do yeah but also I was like I was feeling so nostalgic watching it. I was right back to being in college when I, Callie and I would watch it.

2:01:52Yeah. And talk about JD. Well, we didn't. Is that his name? Yeah, that's his name. Okay. John Dorian. Oh, that's his name. John Dorian. And like, yeah, it, it, it made me happy. Sad. It made me happy. Sad. Sure. Bittersweet. Nostalgia is such a weird feeling. I don't like it. She's a weird mistress. She is. I wish she would die. Oh, no. No, I love nostalgia. No, it makes me feel too many things. Oh, I like it. I don't want to feel those things. Oh, my God. Huge sim. Okay. Huge sim. So he told us a story about how him and Donald Faison were in Vegas. They saw the Chainsmokers at this club. Yep.

2:02:40And I was going to look up the club. Yeah. Also, but when we had the chain smokers on, they were telling us about. The residency at the Wynn, I think it is. Well, hold. Okay. So then I edited this episode, you know, and I write down my facts. And then I go to pee. This is minutes later. Yeah. I go to pee. I'm looking at Instagram during my pee. Mm-hmm. Nicole, our friend Nicole, stylist. Nicole Chavez had a post. She was in Vegas. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. That day. Uh-huh. with Donald and Casey. Okay. At the chainstokers, at the, I guess the opening of Zero Bond. Okay. I don't know what that is. So that's a club and there was an opening.

2:03:28And what hotel's it in? I thought the Wynn, but. Yeah, well, that's what I think. Yeah, it's at the Wynn. R-W-Y-N-N. Right. Right. So that was wild. Yeah, that's a dingles. Anyway, so a lot of people were at that opening. It was like a place to be. Sure. They probably sent jets for people. They sent who? Sent jets for people. Oh, probably. It's the kind of thing now. Say, hey, if you want to come to this nightclub, we'll send a jet. Okay. What percentage of LASIK eye surgeries go awry? Well, I think it's very rare. Yeah, infimatest. Occurring in less than 1 % of cases. Yeah, they've got it nailed.

2:04:08Often cited around 0.3 % to 0.7. Oh, however, temporary manageable side effects like dry eye, halos, or glare affect up to 30 % to 45 % of patients in the months following surgery. That's temp. That's temp, yeah. I got new sunglasses. I've been wearing the exact same pair of sunglasses for 12 years. I found a pair I loved and I never deviated. Yeah. Leisure Society. They're great. Yeah, you love those. Well, they got me with an Instagram ad, Leisure Society, whole new frames. And I got three new pair. And my family's been making fun of me so much. Why? Just because dad got new sunglasses. Dad's just the resident dork.

2:04:49Oh, that's the role you play. But are they cute? I love them. Yeah, I think they're great. Yeah, they think they look great, too. They're just laughing at the fact that I got a new after 12 years. I have a new sunglasses and I was wearing them a lot. Yeah. And so that's just stupid. you know yeah like what if your dad was wearing new sunglasses you and neil would probably be like oh my god dad in his new sunglasses i don't know if we would but yeah okay he said on their podcast for one of them one of the episodes they had a sex therapist on and i was like i bet i bet it's vanessa okay we had yeah yeah yeah yeah um and i looked it up and sure is it was yeah that makes sense.

2:05:29Yes, Vanessa. Great episode. Great gal. Oh, one thing I wanted to remind everyone, if they forgot, which they definitely did. The first episode was Zach Braff was the original Monica Loves Boys. How it started. So there was a picture of me looking at Zach. Okay. That, you know, Rob would take pictures during the episode. He took a picture and I'm smiling in such a way. You look like you're in love with him. Yes. And then we, that's when we came up with Monica Loves Boys, just the name Monica Loves Boys. I think Rob wrote it on the picture and then really took off. Yeah. Who's the one year, no beer guy?

2:06:13Co-founders Ruari Fairbairns and Andy Romage or Romage. Those are them. They do one year, no beer. Seems like maybe it's Andy Romage mainly. That's who he was talking about. I think so. That's who he heard interviewed. I believe so. That's it. That's all? Yeah. That's it for Zach Braff. Okay. Number two. Thanks, Zach Braff. Number two. Good job on Scrubs. Doppelganger. I wonder if people start telling me they like me on Scrubs. They might. I like the reboot. I know, but we established you guys are looking different. We don't really look alike anymore. But you, it's, there is something weird. Oh, yeah.

2:06:55It's like the mouth eyes. There's something going on for sure. It's the whole phase. Yeah, but it's also much different than it was. It is different. It is definitely different than it was. And yet, it's still there. Not as similar, but still similar. Yeah. That's what we might say. It's just so weird because I don't have one. That we've met yet. Well, the gal from season three. No, your friend on Instagram. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She came back in the new season. Yeah, of course. By popular demand. She is not my doppelganger. No. Okay. What's her name again? No one ever thinks. She's your friend. No one ever thinks they're doppelgangers.

2:07:36They're doppelganger. You think it. You know it. Well, because I'm exceedingly honest. Mine's not about being honest. That girl's beautiful. I know, but you would agree that people - I do not, Rob. I want you to be very honest. But that's not a good picture, Rob. Why don't you show one from the first season? That's probably what she looks like now. But that's her on a red carpet with her hair slicked back and short. Maybe, Rob, you should pull up - Okay, now pull up a picture of me. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, it's not a doppelganger. It's not. It's not at all. Wait, wait, wait. We got one more.

2:08:12Okay. she has a much cuter nose than me she's there we go look at that i love with the eye shadow yeah that could be you we shave your sides and put some dark eyeshadow on and she can give mean eyes like you can but she's probably just on the verge of rolling her eyes which is going to send him to the ground that's a really old picture look at that i don't do we maybe i can't be objected Do you really think those look the same? I can see it. But I was like 20 in that picture. She's probably 24 in that picture. I was actually probably like 24 in that picture. That was my first headshot. Wait, I don't know who's, wait, which one's her?

2:08:56Yeah, I love her. I think she's great. She was also in Debs. Yeah, she was. Yeah. She's your friend on Instagram. Yeah. Your best friend. I have a lot of friends on Instagram. She's my friend. Yeah. I follow her on Instagram. that's your friend yeah that's my friend that's your friend i follow her on instagram oh there's my other friend i follow on instagram oh there's one too all right well you're not you're not buying it well listen by the way i wish that's i wish that she was my doppelganger this is where your own like um body and face dysmorphia get in your way like you wouldn't be able to see as soon as you identify someone else as pretty then they're no longer your doppelganger.

2:09:38That's like literally what's happening right now. You're like, oh, she's really pretty. Her nose is different than mine. Yes, and Zach has many different aspects of his face than I do. He's got black hair. We have different chins. We have a lot of different stuff. But there's some thing that is eerily similar. Her nose is nice. Maybe I should take that into the plastic surgeon And say Make me look like that Anyways it's good to see my friend It's good to check in Bye Love you