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Podcast Episode Summary: Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend - Episode with Jeff Bridges
Episode Overview Podcast Title: Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend Episode Title: Jeff Bridges Air Date: [Specify Date] Description: In this episode, actor Jeff Bridges shares his experiences and insights with Conan O'Brien. He discusses his early work, the impact of his music, his iconic role as "The Dude," and how his cancer diagnosis has reshaped his perspective on life.
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Key Themes and Discussions
Friendship and Connection
- Opening Remarks: Jeff expresses his feelings of love and gratitude for his friendship with Conan.
- Celebrity Encounters: Conan reflects on how he has not made lasting friendships with many celebrity guests over his career.
Career Reflections
- Early Work: Jeff reminisces about his early role in _Thunderbolt and Lightfoot_.
- Legacy of The Dude: Discussion about the lasting impact of his character, "The Dude," from _The Big Lebowski_.
- Music Pursuits: Jeff talks about pouring himself into music with his albums _Emergent Behavior Volumes 1-5_.
Life Perspective Shifts
- Cancer Diagnosis: Jeff shares his experience with lymphoma and how it has influenced his outlook on life, emphasizing the importance of appreciating every moment.
- The Nature of Fame: Jeff reflects on growing up in the spotlight due to his father, Lloyd Bridges, and his own career in acting.
The Role of Humor and Play
- Light-hearted Banter: The conversation weaves in playful jabs and humorous anecdotes about family, names, and cultural heritage.
- Cultural Anecdotes: Both Conan and Jeff share stories about their families, including the humorous naming of Jeff's children and family nicknames.
Insights on Acting and Life
- Philosophical Musings: Jeff discusses the idea of how experiences are more important than the end product (the films), comparing them to home movies.
- On Comparison in Art: The dangers of comparing oneself to others in creative fields and how it can impede personal joy and progress.
The Old Man Series
- Discussion on the Show: Jeff talks about the FX series _The Old Man_ and the creative process behind it, highlighting its cinematic quality and storytelling depth.
- Patient Storytelling: Emphasis on the slow unfolding of character arcs and plot, paralleling life’s unpredictability.
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Key Takeaways
- Value of Friendship: Authentic connections are cherished, and moments spent with friends are invaluable.
- Perspective from Adversity: Health challenges can lead to profound insights about life and appreciation for everyday moments.
- Music and Creativity: The struggle between different passions (acting vs. music) and the importance of following one’s creative instincts.
- Cinematic Artistry in Television: The evolving nature of storytelling in TV versus film, and the potential for deep, meaningful narratives in both mediums.
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Quotes
- *“You learn things during those times like those that you can only learn in times like those, which is, this is a gift, man.”* – Jeff Bridges
- *“The product, the movie or the TV, that is sort of the byproduct. And the real product is the experience of doing it.”* – Jeff Bridges
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Conclusion This episode is a heartfelt exploration of friendship, creativity, and the life lessons learned through both triumph and adversity. Jeff Bridges' warmth and wisdom, combined with Conan O'Brien's humor, create an engaging and reflective conversation that resonates with listeners.
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Additional Information
- For more episodes or to subscribe: Visit [TeamCoco.com](https://teamcoco.com)
- Feedback and Questions: Call the Team Coco hotline at 669-587-2847.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:03Okay, hello. My name is Jeff Bridges. and I feel very open very a lot of love man a lot of love feelings are surfacing now about being Conan O 'Brien's friend and being here with him actually this is the most thoughtful beautiful you're just you're a lovely you're a lovely guy thank you man I feel the same about you I mean I can't remember all the times that we've encountered each other over our lives. I've come into your house plenty of times at night when you're sleeping. Oh, that was you. That's me, yeah. I always take a little something when I go. But you leave a little something, too. I leave a little something, too.
0:58Fall is here, hear the yell. Back to school, ring the bell. Brand new shoes, walk and lose. Climb the fence, books and pens I can tell that we are gonna be friends Yes, I can tell that we are gonna be friends Hey there! Welcome to Conan O 'Brien Needs a Friend Joined by my stalwart companions Sona Mavsessian Hey Sona Yeah, hello And of course Matt Gourley That's the name Yes, I just wanted to You got it I just need your social security numbers now And then I can steal your health insurance I want to bring up something to Sona, which is over the years, I guess it's become well-known, Sona, that you are my assistant and that you are Armenian.
1:43Yes. People just come up to me now, wherever I am, in any situation and say, Conan, I'm Armenian. And I know to say, because we went to Armenia together. Oh, we are everywhere. Everywhere. But the thing is, it's almost like if if other people around and like, is it a year and I'll leave him alone? No, Armenians just are like and I don't mind it. I love them. They're very nice. But I'm starting to notice that they will crash through a wall if I'm alone in a room and go Conan. I'm like, hey, whoa. I will say, I mean, just my experience is we're not great with with boundaries. Right. And we don't take pick up on.
2:30like social cues of when it's okay and not okay to say. Well, it's always okay. And I think they're really excited to see you. And they always want to hear like how Sona's doing. They want to know how you're doing. But then. I don't imagine that's the case. Matt Gourlian. Yeah. Oh, Matt Gourlian. Matt Gourlian. Gourlian. I just said Matt Gourlian. I just wanted to tweak it a little. I wanted to punch it up. It's Gourlian. But then they ask, they want to know all about you. And I say, you've got these, you know, these twin boys. They want to know, you know, They're always very interested in the fact that, who did you marry?
3:02And I say, relax, he's Armenian. So they don't get mad at me. If you tell them their names, because I am a little self-conscious that I name them such American names, do they look, of course, Mikey and Charlie? No, I never bring that up because I think they might not like it. Oh, really? Yeah, because, well, I never say because I was surprised when you told me, when you said the twins are born, this is like three years ago now, I was so excited. and I said, I'm downstairs. Can I come up at the hospital? And you said, I'd rather you didn't. Just leave whatever gifts you have. And I was like, well, that's weird.
3:36I drove all the way. Has anyone cut the umbilical cord yet? Yeah. I really thought I'd be in a big part of that. And you made it very clear I should just get back in my car and leave. But no, I was, and then I said, what are your kids' names? And you went, Mikey and Charlie. And I thought it was going to be, you know, Groody and Strudy. No, no. Groody and Strudy. Well, what's wrong with that? First of all, it sounds like... That's Grudin and Strudis. That's right, you're right. I went through a... How about... That's what's wrong with this. Yeah, give me the names that they could have been. Like Armin and Rafi.
4:07Or Kevork. Artak is tax name. Yeah, yeah, Artak Jr. Airpod? Airpod. Hovannes. Hovannes. Airpods Max. Carvan. Carvan? Beats by Dre. Yeah. What are you guys saying? Vortex. Is Vortex? No. You want to keep trying? I think we should, yes. I think you're trying to say you should stop now. But unfortunately, you said, do you think we should keep trying? Which makes me want to go, Grogo! Okay. Okay. But anyway. No. But do you get some flack in the Armenian community for naming them Mikey and Charlie? They go to an Armenian school, and a lot of the parents name their kids Armenian names. And then I just see Charlie and Mikey and I'm like, I think we let our people down a little bit.
4:57Also, you taught them that song since they were very little. We must assimilate, assimilate, assimilate. We must assimilate. That song. It's a Mr. Rogers song. Shed our immigrant past. We must assimilate, assimilate. And I was like, why are you teaching them this? Oh, my God. Shed our immigrant past? That's the song you taught them. And Tack plays it on the guitar. We must assimilate, assimilate, assimilate. We must assimilate and shed our immigrant past. Shed our immigrant past. Shed our immigrant past. Still going. As far as anybody knows. We're little Dutch boys. I just think it was a weird song to teach your children at such a young age.
5:43But they should assimilate, right? I don't know. It's good. It's fine. I always feel badly for my mom because I think deep down she really wanted. us to be the kind of kids that could go to a country club. And we just weren't. We were Irish pirates. And I used to just pretty much tell her that. Like, what are you talking about? We're just Irish. We're 100 % Irish. We're bums. But she was an intellectual. Your dad is an intellectual. I know, but it doesn't. It was snow. I know. My parents are very smart, accomplished people, and then they had kids, and we were like, argh! But it kind of backfired on them, because you're very intellectual, but in a way that probably infuriates them.
6:33Yes, I know. It's like some kind of Cassandra curse, like, be careful what you wish for. Yeah, yeah. Well, I don't know. Something went horribly wrong. But I think I like Mikey and Charlie, and I do think they've grown into those names. They are Mikey and Charlie. That's who they are now. Do they have Armenian middle names? Yeah. Krikor and Tanya. You're halfway there. Krikor. I love that one. Krikor. Yeah. And what's the other one? Tanya. I mean, it's... Tanya. It's Daniel. Daniel. Yeah. And what's Krikor? Gregory. Oh. Oh. I named him after my grandparents. Oh! Oh! You just forgot? Your grandparents are named Charlie and Mikey?
7:09Yeah. No, they're Krikor and Tanya. They're my grandfathers. Grandpa Mikey and Grandma Charlie. Oh, yeah. I'll never forget the day in 1907 when Mikey saw a beautiful Charlie walking down the lane carrying that basket of dried apricots. Oh, come on! Cricor! Cricor! My grandma went by Eddie. That was her name. Is that true? What's her full name? Eleanor. But why Eddie? I don't know, to be honest. My grandmother, who lived with us for a while, who I think was born in 1890, So she really saw everything in a lifetime. But we always knew her as Maudie. Her nickname was Maudie. And we would say, why is your name, what does everyone call you Maudie?
7:55And it was because there was a comic book, a comic strip when she was about eight years old about a mule named Maudie that would kick. And at the playground, she once kicked, like some boys were bothering her and she was kicking at them. and they called her Maudie. And so a hundred years later, we're saying, hey, Maudie, pass the salt. What's her real name? I'm shocked you guys weren't country club people. Yeah, I know. You mule-damaged lineage. Yeah. What's her real name? Yeah. It was Ruth. Ruth. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, which was my mom's name too. I didn't know that. Yeah. That's cool. Oh, so she, that's your mother's mother?
8:37Yes, my mother's mother. A female junior. She was named after this kicking mule in a comic strip that was popular in, you know, 1900 or 1898. And then it stuck like one day on the playground. Yeah, you're a real Marty, that one. And then cut to, you know, us a hundred years later. Not a hundred years, but whatever. Eighty five years later. You called her by her nickname, though? You didn't call her grandma? We called her Maudie. Okay. And we called our grandfather, my mother's father, Hoofer. And because, no, that's true. Because he, as a young man, he was a policeman in Worcester, Massachusetts who directed traffic, but he knew like one dance step.
9:28And people were like, yeah, you're a real Hoofer. And that kicker over there is a real Maudie. And so we called them Hoofer and Maudie. And then the one day we go to enlist at the country club, They're like, well, tell us a little bit about yourself, kid Hey, there are six of you You seem to have been born three months apart And your shirts are all torn Tell us about yourself Well, our grandmother's Marty after the kicking mule And our cop grandfather is called Hoofer Because he knew a dance step He used to kick the winos with it All right, well, there's this back door here you can use What should I tell my mother?
10:08Should I tell her that we're in? And we can come here and eat peanut butter and jam sandwiches? No, get the fuck outta here.
10:19Do you wanna hear about my other grandfather, Shitsy? Get out! Get out!
10:28All right. By the way, God rest your soul. Shitsy. Hey Shitsy, get over here. Why'd they call him Shitsy? Hey, took a shit. When World War I was declared, he shit his pants, cause he knew he had to fight. So we call him Shitsy. Say hello to Jizz Schmeckman.
10:52Shitsy! What's your, who did he marry? He married, ah fuck it. Ah fuck it, yeah. When she was three in 1850, she banged her shit on a stool. Ah fuck it. So our fuck at Machitzy. So about this country club application, where do I sign? And where do my 15 brothers and sisters sign who are all born the same day? And where do we check inbred? Hey, is that a golf course? Can we play? We've got hockey sticks. Oh my God. I can't breathe.
11:38Quick apology to my family. Too late. We're throwing you all under the bus. Hey, my guest today. My guest today is an Academy Award winning actor. Oh my God, why? The chasm between the shit we talk about. The chasm between how low we are and the quality of the people that come here. It's like our first guest won the Nobel Peace Prize. My guest today is an Academy Award winning actor who has starred in such films as Tron, Iron Man and The Big Lebowski. Now you can see him in the FX series, The Old Man. I really do love this show. I'm glad it's back. I'm thrilled he's here today.
12:19Jeff Bridges, welcome.
12:26so you know it's so funny because you've done so much incredible work and i've also thought about how i just have this bond with your family because when i was a kid they would show reruns a lot and my brothers and i there was one thing that we watched in the summer and it was we would watch sea hunt sea hunt was on and uh of course your dad the great lloyd bridges was the star of sea hunt and so i remembered when you first came on the scene and i'd see you in movies and people i would think of you as lloyd bridges that's lloyd bridges son because he was on sea hunt and that's the show we would watch with my brother neil and luke and we would watch sea hunt we just like and uh and we thought that was the coolest show in the world and of course we were watching it long after it had been on.
13:12We're watching it in the 70s. Oh, right. It was the early 60s. Now, you've triggered a story. That's what I do. I trigger people. You've triggered me. You've mentioned Sea Hunt. Now, this is also a plug for a fellow named Richard Peterson. People can Google Richard Peterson's first movie, Big City Dick. Dick, it's called. Hello. Big City Dick, Richard Peterson's first movie. That's the official title. And I met this fella maybe 30 years ago in Seattle. I'm getting dressed to go down and do this movie American Heart. I hear this outside my window. I look out there and there's this bald, kind of heavyset guy in a tight mattress, sport coat.
14:10It's like, I know, I know. I go down there. I forget all about the guy. And he comes up to me. He goes, oh, Lloyd Bridges, son, son of Seahunt. And I say, you got me. And then I realized what he was playing on his trumpet was Seahunt music. Yeah. And he comes up to me and he says, these are the cues I need. They are the cues, these cues. And I said, what is this? He says, the cues from Seahunt. You know, every time they go, he saw it. So this fellow, Richard Peterson, is a savant. And his subject, Seahunt. Yeah, all Ziv music. And also what's crazy is his connection with you, as mine was just like early, early on, was through your dad.
15:05And then you've gone on to have this insane career. But it doesn't matter what you do to this guy. You'll always, the connection will always be Seahunt. Son of Seahunt. Son of Seahunt. So now years later, about 20 years later, I'm doing a Seabiscuit in Pasadena. I have a big suite of a piano in the room. And these guys come over and say, do you know Richard Peterson? We're some documentary film directors. The three of us have gotten together. And I say, oh, yeah. And I tell them this story. And they say, now, Richard's downstairs. Can he come up? I said, oh, wonderful. I've always wondered because he's really a piano player.
15:46I said, we got a PM. And we get down there and we start playing sea hunt music. You're playing the stings to an early 60s television show. That's hilarious. As I'm walking him out the door saying, Richard, you know, are you into jazz? Because it's kind of, you know, out there music you play. And you'd like Thelonious Monk, for instance. And he looks at me. I dig sea hunt. have you heard of Mozart was he on Seahunt Seahunt man so Seahunt it's wild but you know I don't know I know that you you're in the business you did obviously some cameos on Seahunt with your brother Bo and then I remember a movie came out that to this I love this movie Thunderbolt and Lightfoot and my, my, my, you know this film?
16:42Yeah, I love it. And it's Clint Eastwood, it's you, it's George Kennedy. It's a great fucking movie and I'm, I love that movie and you're, you popped so much in that movie. You must have been a young kid at the time. Yeah, I can't remember how old I was. I think it was, the movie's 1974, they probably shot it in 73, but you're just such a great character. Well, it was Chimino's first movie. Michael Chimino. Michael Chimino's first movie. He's the guy who directed Heaven's Gate. Yep, yep. Completely different experience. You know, in Heaven's Gate, we would do up to 60 takes. You know, we're here, we'll show up.
17:25And I'm not sure if I really dug that approach because nobody, you never know what it's going to take. Are you into it? But with Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, But Clint always only liked to do, you know, one take, maybe two, you know. And I was the kid who'd go up to Chimena and say, I got to ask the boss. And Clint would say, yeah, give the kid one more take. But that film is very close to my heart because that's the first film I did in Montana. And, man, I just came back from Montana, so I'm a little countrified. Well, there is, I know a movie's great when the loss of a character upsets me on an emotional level.
18:12Or if a character's hurt, it upsets me. Because, you know, there's a lot of violence. There's a lot of things that can happen in movies and television and you just don't feel anything. And George Kennedy gives your character a beating and it upset me because I was so invested in your character. And I thought, that's a good movie. And that's a good, that's proof to me that the acting here is top level. When I'm upset, I mean, you see, if you just casually watch anything, you'll see people getting the shit kicked out of them a million times. You're numb to it. But I don't know, I felt a real loss there when your character was beaten like that.
18:55It just upset me and it still does. I'm smiling because I... It's funny, when I see movies that I'm in, They're like home movies. You know, I remember so many different things about it when I watch it. And as you're telling that story, my mind went like, it's very much like the Richard Peterson story that I just shared with you. It was perhaps too long. Do you like a longer, and you edit this, right? No, just from you. Talk as long as you laugh. Jeff, we'll just leave. Jeff, I assure you, I assure you, this is all gold. This is a great day for me. I love that you're here. You can do no wrong. You're the dude.
19:39I think we have to acknowledge you are the dude. And you know what's so crazy? You came on my show once and you were wearing sandals, jelly sandals, and then you revealed these are the same ones you wore as the dude. And I felt like I was in Rome watching, looking at like a religious icon. You know, it was just crazy that you had those. and yes what not them these are my these are my hokas you guys are hip though those are the dudes 2000 these sandals oh yeah the dude is the dude has evolved oh man the dude evolves yeah the dude so let me let me the dude that should be the new one the dude evolves the dude evolves there you go it's all set up yeah Lebowski too yeah and in this one he's got a he's pregnant Maude's got a baby on his leg The stranger set it up.
20:33And the one difference is his footwear, it's still open-toed, but it has more support. Orthopedic. It's orthopedic. Yeah, that is right. That's really the only difference. I like it. I like that. I, you know, I was going to, oh, go ahead. He had that story. Yeah, I was going to tell the story. So what that triggered when you were talking about the Thunderbolt and Life, that scene that you're talking about where I die in the car with Clint, I go up to Mike and I say, Mike, the Chimino. I've got an idea, Mike. Now, I can do this with my eye. I don't know where the camera is. See, like that. I can hold a half blink pretty good.
21:16Yeah. So I said, why don't we get a dentist? Because I'm supposed to die of a brain hemorrhage. Brain hemorrhage. You've been beaten really badly, and Clint thinks you're going to be okay. Yeah. I say, let's get a dentist up here and shoot me with Novocaine in the side of my face. And I'll go like that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And he said, okay. So we did that. And it worked great. And they lost the film. What? And we had to do the whole thing again. I love being that. Who comes in and tells you that? You know the thing where you. The dentist has to come in. And that's unbelievable because it's a very powerful ending where you think everything's okay.
22:02And then you realize that you're gone. Yeah. Man, I don't know what your approach is. I know that you're a very philosophical person who thinks about things and doesn't take things for granted. I also happen to know that through your father, you learned like this is a job. Do you know what I mean? You've got to respect the crew. This is real work. So you grew up with this great ethic. And do you have a perspective on your career? Because you've done so many amazing, how do you see it? Do you see it as like, I rode a wave? Do you see it as, I worked hard, I made good decisions, a mixture of both?
22:43Well, it's quite amazing, you know. A friend asked me, what's it like to be famous? Kind of like, you know, what do you, you know, what? And I grew up with fame. You know, my dad was famous with Sea Hunt, you know, so it was kind of natural. And then the movie seems very, very natural thing. There doesn't seem anything too special about that to me. But as I think about the movies, and I'm so fortunate to have discovered this camera, this wide lux camera that my wife gave me on our first anniversary. And I've taken pictures while I'm doing the movies. and uh i look at those books and they're like little lifetimes you know you remember all those intense relationships you know and then poof it's gone and they're that's how i how i look back at it um because you could have a very intense experience you know whether it's you're doing true grit or last picture show or whatever whatever film you're doing you have this it's I cannot it's crazy for me to try and compare but the only thing that that I can relate to a little bit is when I do comedy stuff or a show or travel to a different country that's all I'm in it a hundred percent and then it's over and I'm gone but there's a document afterwards and later on I look at it and I go oh that's right I was in I was in Cuba and what am I doing I'm on a seawall in Cuba and I'm drinking rum with some kid I met smoking a cigar.
24:23And that was it. It fires off little neurons in my head. But I also know that I there's a thousand other things that I moved on to. It almost it feels like the product, the movie or the TV. That is sort of the byproduct. And the real product is the experience of doing it. It's almost incidental. As crazy as that sounds, you've done all this amazing work. Yeah, it's funny. It's what I was saying. I look at movies I'm in, and they're like home movies. It's hard for me to follow the story.
25:06As terrific a career as you've had as an actor, music haunts you. You grew up playing music, and you really were seriously considering Amaya. am I going to go into acting or am I going to be a musician? Like there's a fork in the road. And I feel like it's something you're still wrestling with. That's fine. Kind of dancing with it, man. I don't know. I think maybe it's kicked my ass, basically. I think at this moment, I don't know if I'll get back into it as strongly as I did after Crazy Heart. Right around when I did your show. You came on my show to do Crazy Heart, which was this phenomenal, phenomenal movie, phenomenal performance.
25:45And, you know, in 60, whatever I was, 62, whatever, I finally had my Beatle moment, you know, because there's nothing like playing in a band. You're a musician. Yeah, I love that. And it's just like, it's so great to do that. And my buddy T-Bone, you know, when we did Crazy Heart together, he did all the, you know, most of the music for it. And after Crazy Heart, I got my, you know, music, you know, I was tickled. I said, well, I got some more tunes to do, Bone. And he said, sure. And so we did an album and then we'd get a band. He said, well, I'm going to get the band together. And all these friends I got in Santa Barbara.
26:22And I had that. I'm being triggering myself here. I had my Beatle moment with my band at a Lebowski Fest. Yes. Oh, man. So it all came together. Yeah. Oh, and you're playing to a sea of dudes. Oh, man. No, but you know what's so nice is, I don't know about you, my experience has been, I've had, Sonny, you were along for the 2010 experience where I went on this tour and there was a lot of music and crazy crowds and we did comedy, but we also, I got to have my moments of soloing in front of a sold out, like multiple tier. And it was just, It was a crazy experience. And what would happen is I'd start to think to myself, hey, you know, I think I could do, yeah, I could.
27:17This is what I could do. This is what I could do. And you know what always resets it? I'm around a Jimmy Vivino or a Jack White or any of these guys who really does it. And I go, oh. Like, oh, I see. Oh, and it's, I'm constantly being humbled by people that I love it, it's fun. I like to do it for fun. But if this was something I was meant to be doing, I'd have been doing it when I was seven years old. And that's comedy for me. So that decision was made. I didn't have to make it, you know? Well, now when you say wrestle or struggle, that's really, you know, this thing about comparison and everything.
27:57I, you know, when we had all this downtime with the strikes and COVID and all this stuff, and different guys did different things during that time, you must have seen Inside, right, that guy Bo Burnham? Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, fantastic. Were you impressed, man? Bo is phenomenal. Oh, man. Phenomenal talent. That movie, the eighth grade. Yeah, he's phenomenal talent. So I had a bunch of time, and you're a creative person. You said, what am I going to do? So I decided I'll go back in my mind, my music mind, and discover old tunes and things that I'm now, I'm one of my 74. I say, how to perfect all that stuff going to music, that's a lot of effort.
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28:42There's a lot of things I like slowing down, not doing as much as I might have when I was younger. I said, I've got all these things. I'll just play with them. And I started going on the internet and finding things to juxtapose these tunes. Or I would take my little iPhone out and do things and juxtapose. Create. I had fun. And I said, okay. You know, I'll work with this other guy who knows how to make websites. Yeah, why not release this? I mean, why not? You know, I'm just sharing, man. This is my offer. This is what I got. You know, and listen to it. There's so much shit out now, isn't there, man?
29:26I mean, there's so much going on. So I said, well, why not put your shit out there? You know, so I decided to release this thing called Emergent Behavior, Volumes 1 through 5, you know, just, and, you know, so that's what I've done kind of musically, and that's where I'm at. And I don't know, I feel kind of spent, I don't know if I'll do Volume 6 or what, but it was interesting, you know, what you were talking about, comparing yourself to the Beatles and these guys, you know. And, wow, that really gets in our way, man. Well, comparison. Because ultimately, isn't the spot that you want to get into where it's doing you, you're not even doing it with what you do.
30:09I'm sure you get into that place all the time. Oh, yeah. And just not take it too damn seriously, man. And let the thing come through what it wants to do. Don't be so ego tripping like, oh, you know. Right. What is it? There's a famous quote that I'm not coming up with right now, but it's like comparison is the death. Is the thief of joy. Is the thief of joy. Thank you. Oh, I thought it was Aaron Blair. It was the Seas of Joy. And then it goes on further from there. And also Aaron Blair. Thank you, Aaron. I punish a guy for having the right answer. I know. And so welcome to Stalin's holiday camp.
30:45But on the other side of that practice, man, like you say, that's what I regret. Not woodshedding. I've got some friends that did it when they were 12. And now they're just so facile. They can play whatever they want. It's humbling. But, you know, I think the bigger point is comparison gets you nowhere. And trust me, I'm sure there are many actors that have hurt themselves by comparing themselves to you, like your career, what you've accomplished. They've hurt themselves unnecessarily. Do you know what I mean? It's just it's a you can't get into that game. I just been hanging out with a guitarist.
31:28Do you know Blake Mills? I know the name. Oh, man, you got to check him out. Here's another, just, I'm not, you know, we're talking music. Wolfpack, do you know them? No. Oh, you know them? And the Fearless Flyers. Blake has a great version of Signed, Sealed, and Delivered that he plays with the Fearless Flyers. It's amazing. I just always find people ask me, who are your favorite groups? And I'll say, it's not even about a group for me. They're just certain songs, you know, that I hear it. I have to learn how to play it and I can't stop playing it. And sometimes it's not, it's by a very obscure musician.
32:09and I don't really know if they've gone on, what else they've gone on to, but it just grabs me by the throat and then I have to do it. I just have to learn it, play it, until everyone around me is so tired of it that I'm asked to live in the yard. And then I'm... You must have seen Standing in the Shadow of Motown, didn't you? Yeah. Wasn't that a great movie, man? Also, you narrated, I believe. Oh, I narrated the history of rock and roll just like 40 years ago. didn't you write now narrate the credence clearwire revival documentary because i that was great and i and i remember thinking great the minute oh i i love them but then the minute you were narrating it i thought oh this is the right guy to take me through cco yeah absolutely i got to play with him got on stage and played yeah what's the motorcycle sturgis oh yeah yeah you You played with John Fogarty.
33:02Yeah, man. Do you remember what you've - Singing, singing. No, I sang. I got to sing. I left the guitar work to John. You know what's becoming clear to me? You were not acting in the Big Lebowski. Everything I see, you're like, yeah, man. Now you just get like a white Russian and start drinking it and going, yeah, a lot of angles. A lot of angles. You let the dude do you. Yeah, exactly. The dude did you and then never left. And then never left. You know what's so funny? dude-ism? Dude-ism is a religion now. Dude-ism. And you know what? I was raised Catholic. I'd switch to dude-ism. I think it makes more sense to me.
33:42I just visited the Pope and I would talk him into doing dude-ism. Tell me more of this dude-ism. He did have a white Russian. He did have a white Russian and he was saying, there's a lot of, you know, I got to get the rug back. It ties the Vatican together. It ties the Vatican together. It's one rug. my uh but judism is it's a religion well i get the whole the yeah the uh lebowski just keeps you know and there's the the fest that goes on for three days and it's uh religion and there's a book you know uh what is it something like dude or no they have many books one book is uh Written in Shakespeare, like Shakespeare would do it.
34:23Two dudes in Verona. I'm sitting at this dinner party, and on my right is Ram Dass, you know, the guy who would be here now. And this guy over here is a guy named Bernie Glassman. And he's a Zen master. And he leans over to me and says, I'm really Doug Lebowski. I say, oh, great. He says, it's full of koans, you know. I said, koans? What do you mean? And you know what a koan is? It's like, what is the sound of one hand clapping? These kinds of Zen. These kind of weird. Zen riddles. Yeah, that make you think. There's no logical answer to it. And he says, the film's full of koans. I said, what are you talking about?
35:09He says, well, who wrote and directed the film? The koan brothers. And he says, I'm all about... He's a wiseass, is what he is. I'm all about bringing Buddhism and Zen to modern times. He says, let's write a book about Lebowski. And I said, what do you mean? He says, well, the dude abides. Very Buddhistic. Yes, yeah. I said, what are some other koans? Shut the fuck up, Donnie. Yeah, yeah. That's a koan? Yeah, yeah. Shut the fuck up, Donnie. Yeah, exactly. You know, or that's just like your opinion, man. Yeah, yeah. So we go up to Montana and write for two weeks when we wrote a book, The Dude and the Zen Master, another blooming thing out of this movie.
36:01You know, it just keeps giving. You know, what's interesting to me is when that movie came out, it was not a success. it was not deemed a success but like the best things it's resonates and then it grows and it grows and it grows and it grows and it's going to keep on growing and i think you know like a thousand years from now there will be giant judism centers that people go to well those brothers the koan brothers i mean they're just masters and they make it look like it's like it's nothing but They are the two guys. I'm pretty, I think I've met everybody. I revere the Coen brothers, love them.
36:43I'm obsessed with them, never met them. And I saw them once in a restaurant and I was sitting very nearby and I didn't say a word. Oh, and you wish you did. Well, I kind of was, I, I, I'm, that's how high up they are for me, which is like, I do not, I would not, you know, just to, to meet them would, would make my year. They're intimidating. Yeah, I think so. Yeah. And I, and I have such, they, they're, they really are my go-to filmmakers and I've, I've watched all of their films so many times. Yeah. You can see them over and over and just appreciate the mastery. I mean, with Lebowski, you know, if something comes on that I'm in on TV, I'll, you know, click, watch a scene, click.
37:29But with Lebowski, I'll say, I'll just watch until Donnie dies or something. And then I'll keep, I get hooked. Because it's like... I love you watching Lebowski. I love you at home. Oh, man. Watching Lebowski and... It's like a black hole folding in on itself. I know, exactly. In a good way. It's the snake eating its tail. It's the snake birthing its tail. Birthing it very nice. Talk about a home movie, man. I mean, that is very much a home movie. I just, you know, one of my favorite parts about that movie is, is when you, whenever you have a chance to get your favorite drink, you will, as people do that, like their drink, they'll kill time just so they can drink more.
38:10I always get the sense you're always saying like, yeah, a lot of angles, a lot of angles, a lot of levels. And you're bullshitting. You're totally. And I know I've done that in my life when I just did like, I got a nice glass of wine here. My wife thinks maybe we should let's move on. Let's pay the check. and I'm like, you know, we got a lot to talk about here. A lot of angles, a lot of moves. I just want to have just everyone settle down for a second. DeTuro made that movie, you know, another out shoot of Lebowski. What's the name of it, you know? Oh, where he plays his character. Yeah, he plays the pedophile.
38:47Yeah, yeah. Yeah, the role everyone's after. I turned it down six times. you know um you went through this intense experience which makes me very grateful that you're here and looking like a million bucks you were you got a cancer diagnosis i think in was 2021 is that right i can't remember but you can't remember yeah and you it's a lymphoma you're fighting that and then you get really bad covid at the same time and it was uh i've read that it It was, and you've talked about, it was rough. It was incredibly rough. And I don't know, do you come out of that with a different perspective? Yeah. Oh.
39:31Yeah, to think of something like that as a gift seems bizarre, or before it actually happened, seems bizarre. Now I can understand it. You know, you learn things during those times like those that you can only learn it in times like those, which is, this is a gift, man. And we're alive doing this? Yeah. Oh, yeah. No, no. We take it for granted, don't we? Yeah. I've learned, I wish this wasn't true. I think it's just human nature, but there have been a number of times in my life where there's been some difficulty or a death and I get this incredible perspective and it starts drifting away within 20 minutes uh and i had it yesterday where i i talked to a fan who's quite ill and we had this really intense conversation and i thought i have no problems i have no uh it was i thought this person's giving me a gift of this amazing perspective and then i feel that for a while but then inevitably you go home and then you can't get the cable to work you know and and but what i'm saying is it's like i'm i'm you immediately go well god damn it this crestron never works sorry crestron i know you do incredible work but you got that and i think your name check them i'm sorry well they had it coming they had it coming And apparently this touchscreen isn't immediately giving me the entertainment I want to watch.
41:15And so, and then I stopped myself and I go, wait a minute. You were talking to someone who's quite ill and you had this amazing moment. And all it took was your drive from Larchmont over to Brentwood to get you to this. Like that's the part. But you had that flash. That's the important flash. The second one that pulls you back. Yeah, you said, oh, oh. And that word practice comes to mind. You know, we can practice this kind of attention, you know. And like you said, God, I fall into that all the time. Like, what? You know, these bumps, you know. And what about the body, man, as you age? Oh, I don't like that shit, man.
41:54Well, unfortunately, my body's perfect. Yes, exactly. Well, you saw that when you walked in. You probably thought. Well, I hugged you. I noticed the delts. you were rubbing me for a while remember that um you know talk about a gift uh you you know it's this world we live in of streaming which i'm still getting used to where a show where a show will come out and i'll start watching it and i'll binge it and i'll love it and then it's done and then i'll say okay i want more because that's how we are and so when the old man came out I watched this show. My wife and I watched it and absolutely loved it.
42:35Absolutely loved it. Just loved it. And your character, the way the story unfolds, we know so little about you, but then we start to realize there's more to this guy than meets the eye. And then more and more layers start getting exposed. John Lithgow is it, who's also one of my favorite people. And he's fantastic. And then we learn you two have this big history together and it's about the CIA and generations and, and our involvement in, uh, you know, foreign wars. And it's just, it's, it's a, it, but it's a great story, great acting. And it was over. And I was like, I want more right away. And I've had to wait.
43:13And now it's back. And I'm so happy that you guys haven't this other season because I can't wait. Yeah. Yeah. I hope you enjoy it. I was, it's a good one. A lot of twists and turns and just get the anti keeps you know up and yeah the writing is spectacular yeah well that's this guy john steinberg who is our showrunner the writer and really uh yeah he really put it together and then the cast you're not only the actors who are all splendid you know amy brenneman and joel gray we got to do some stuff with joel uh but it's the cameraman i'm always i'm impressed with the cinematography of this thing you know i'm being primarily in movies i didn't know about the tv thing you know but there's such great stuff on tv my gosh now so that i said oh yeah no that's don't put that on there because the making of it i mentioned the cinematography of the thing i'm it's like you know the same attention that goes into making movies well you know what's happened is i don't think the line between what's a tv show and what's a movie is meaningless to me now yeah because it used to be the case yeah that you know it's just a running length is the yeah exactly but it's it's really uh the some of the best acting directing i don't know if any of you saw ripley which was uh what about succession succession oh my god i mean but like that cool you but you you see these things play out and you think no no this this is great cinema.
44:49Call it what you want. I'm not seeing it in a theater. What about, I'm sorry. No, no, I love that we're now plugging other people's projects. What about any show that's not your show? No, but what I was saying about The Old Man is that The Old Man is a cinematic experience to me because what got to me was when, from the first episode, you realize what is going on with this guy? This guy looks like he's got a pretty simple life. And then I can tell you're aware that something isn't right. You've been laying low for a long time. And then you realize people are coming to get you. And I'm in. I'm thinking, what is happening?
45:31And then the way the patience, you have to wait for it. You have to wait for each thing to unfold to find out who is this guy, Dan Chase? Who is he? Who was he? And then we get to see that in flashbacks. But the whole thing is teaching, I hope, a younger generation about patience. Like you don't get, you know, the way I think what happened with movies is there's so much money on the line. Everything had to happen right away. Yeah. And they had to show you a trailer that showed you everything. Oh, I hate that. Yeah. And then I think, I did think once if Citizen Kane came out today, there'd be a trailer online that shows them that Rosebud is a sled.
46:11And shows them burning it. because we don't want anyone to have to wait for that. And that would be like the first thing they'd show is, it's about a guy who says, Rosebud, don't worry, that's a sled. It would also be merchandised as a toy sled. Yeah, and toy sled. Get the Rosebud sled. And so the whole mystery would be gone. But I love that with your show, with a lot of these shows, you have to wait. And so I had to wait for the old man to come back. And it's like, even though I think I'd have some pull with you and I could get you to call me up and tell me what happens. No, I had to wait. Well, what's so wild?
46:41I don't know what's going to happen. It's very much like life. You don't know what's going to happen the next second. And hopefully we're going to go into season three, and I don't know where it's going to go. I know I'm this guy, and I put my faith in the showrunner, you know, and do it. And so that's a fresh experience. I'm going to take these things. I'm going to try that. Look at that. I just matched you. Huh? What do you think, man? You got the best. I'll keep coming up to the mic. I love these things. Fuck these things. Let's take these off. Sona, do it. Oh, I don't know. I'm too scared.
47:18I'm too scared. No, no, no, put it back. Put it back. Don't worry, they're burning. Hey, check me on this. Who's got better hair than this man? I mean, you're just, you know, I - You're the two of you. No, no, you. No, no, no. Mine is more of a caricature. You have - No, you. That's fantastic. Incredible. And my hair heroes, you're one of them. The other was Jack Lord in Hawaii Five-0. Oh, yes, Jack Lord. Remember, he had that big sweep. Very nice. And then my heart was crushed because I found out on this podcast, remember who we were talking to who did a scene with him, who was a child actor at the time?
47:56Was it Kurt Russell? Who himself has amazing hair. Yeah, who himself has amazing hair. But Kurt Russell's talking to me and went, yeah, I was a kid actor and I did a Hawaii Five-0. And they were doing my shot, so the camera wasn't on Jack Lord and he took his hair off. And I said, what do you mean he took his fucking hair off? And he said, well, you know, it was a piece. And I went, I didn't know it was a piece. Did you know? Go ahead and take yours off. I'm looking at you now. We're talking hair. And I'm thinking, my favorite haircut was shaved head, bald. Oh, really? And I'm looking at your head.
48:29And I said, this man would look wonderful with a bald head. Should I go for it? Have you ever thought about it? Never had a shaved head. I've never had a shaved head. It's really nice. Have you guys? None of you guys? Uh-oh. Well, you were a terrible skinhead for a while. It also wasn't my choice. My friends did the thing where they shaved my head. Did you like it finally? Did you get into it? You know what? I will say, I did like it. You feel so clean and smooth. At first, it feels like just your forehead, but up here. And then you get this shark feeling. It feels like shark skin. And you get a little velvet thing.
49:12It's erotic. It is. A cat's tongue. A little bit of a cat's tongue. The way water hits on there and stays in there when you take the shower. But also, no fuss, no mush. I mean, I'm six hours every morning with my hair team. There you go. You know, they're putting, they're using curlers. They're injecting. Oh, wow. This is after six hours? Yeah. Oh, okay. Well, then I was in a terrible accident. My hair saved my life, but it shattered. I don't think I would shave my head because it's such a part of my identity that I've been pretty much reduced to like, I am a Woody Woodpecker cartoon. You know, like I'm not even a person anymore.
49:47I'm a cartoon character. I was going to ask you, did you, you know, you, you know, I'm saying this is a silly question because I'm imagining, of course you did, but maybe I'm wrong. Did you put product in your hair and work that? Yeah. You know, look at that. Zeus. Zeus is in the house. volume no you have no idea what was your product uh okay i'll tell you exactly what it was i got into uh rockabilly that was my first love rockabilly music and i would play the old like brunette brothers and i would i grew the sideburns and i realized my hair would do that so i first oh you must have oh piled it up and i used this stuff that a friend of mine turned me on to was like use 10x and there was this stuff they made called 10x and you'd put it in your hair and then you could comb it up and i was doing this in the 80s not a lot of other people were doing it and then i get a job on the simpsons i remember i met the simpsons and i had i'm a writer producer and i have these little sideburns eisenhower jacket with the collar flipped up hair and i'd walk in the writers be like what are you doing this isn't a production of grease we're writing the simpsons i'm like hey man you know but but i don't know what it was i i was uh that's what i wanted to do and so my first big uh magazine cover was uh rolling stone and they put me on the cover rolling stone and this guy had this idea which is he took my hair and then he added these extensions and we blew it way out and it's my one of my favorite i've seen it like there's an air it's in an airport somewhere where they just put rolling stone covers up but mine was one of them.
51:26And the hair, it's like 50 pounds of hair and a giant wave on my head. And it looks absolutely insane. But I was like, in my mind, even though that's a joke, that's what I really wanted it to be and still do. You know? Well, and you must do that. I do it sometimes. And my wife is like, can't we go? Not yet. I need more mayonnaise for my coif. How about a ducktail? Never did the ducktail. Never did it. That's kind of classic rockabilly. I know. I didn't do the ducktail, but I just got lost in all that craziness. I don't know. I come down to the, it comes down to this for me. I think there's a lot we do that's compulsion.
52:04When people tell their story, they act like they made choices and they forged who they are. And more and more, I think, I don't know. My life is a bunch of synaptic misfires. And now here I am. I'm, I, you know, the hair, the, the choice of so many things. That's very dudist. No, but it is. I mean, and I say misfires, meaning I have, it sounds absurd for me to say I made any of this happen. I didn't make any of this happen. And I'm here talking to you and I don't know, you're one of my all-time favorite actors, people, and you're here talking to me. I didn't make this happen. This just happened and I couldn't be happier.
52:45There's this guy, Sapolsky, you know, who's saying, there's no such thing as willpower that's uh you're not in control at all from the very you know from the very the circum just the circumstances that you come out of i don't know i've kind of feel mixed about that you feel yeah i do because it maybe lets us off the hook too much yeah yeah well yeah because then anyone could say yeah i just murdered eight people and left their bodies by the roadside, but that's just what I did. You know, you're like, no, no. Yeah, and he's big on crime, all those people in jail who we say, you're a bad, he's saying it's the circumstances.
53:29Yeah, a lot of times that's true. From the very, very beginning of all how it turns out. I think it's kind of, don't you feel life is so paradoxical? You know, there's not one way, one thing. I think it's kind of both. maybe it's only willpower. Koans, man. Koans. It's Koans. Yeah, there you go. It is. It is. And there are two Koans. Yeah. That's the sound of one Koan brother clapping. Yeah. That means one Koan brother's really pissed about something. It doesn't like the edit. Well, I want to make sure people check out the second season of The Old Man. It's so easy to binge the first season. And I'm just a lifelong fan.
54:12and not just of your work, but you're an authentically nice and feeling person. And I'm just, it's an honor to know you. It really is. I feel that same way. Yeah, yeah. Well, I'm a good actor. There you go. Thanks a lot, Joe. Beautiful. Okay.
54:40We don't do this often. You're crinkling papers in the background. It sounds like... Oh, let's try again. Abide, man. Just abide. Yeah. That'll work once they know what I'm talking about. Here we go. Three, two, I control everything. Controllo. The opposite of the dude. This is... Yeah, you really are. No, shh. Quiet. There is no rug. What? What? Three, two. We don't do this often. Oh, my God. All of this is staying in. Yes, please. But no, my control will come out. You'll never know. You'll never know. You really will never know. Someday I will listen to this podcast as soon as I can figure out how to work my whatever machine plays this.
55:23I am definitely. You couldn't even think of anything. I don't know the machine. Your phone. I am definitely going to edit the first part of this segment. it's not common that we have a guest on. The guest leaves, and then we say, we have to talk. We have to talk immediately. But the great Jeff Bridges just left the building, and there is something nourishing about being in that man's presence. He's such a talented guy, but he's also very humble and sweet and wise. And we're just sitting here with him, and I don't know. I just, I'm, I feel like I've been healed. It's like a car wash for the soul or something like that.
56:04I love his vibe. He's got a good vibe. He's got a very good vibe. Can I tell you something that happened that is just so dude? Yeah. The listeners wouldn't know this, but every one of these seats has a little tape mark for where your belly button is supposed to go so that we line up with these cameras. And people are reminded of it every time they come in. We are. Just to make sure that we get good footage of the person. Yeah. And there's a point about, I don't know, 30 minutes to this interview where he just can I take off these headphones? And then he just looked down at the piece of tape and just goes, takes it off.
56:36Like, I will not be, not be burdened by this mark that I have to hit. It was so wonderful. Why would the dude... So symbolic. Symbolic that someone was trying to control him with a little piece of tape. Like, keep your belly button here. No. No, I'm just going to, I'm going to let the universe guide me. Not this colored piece of tape. My belly button mark is where my belly button is. Yes. Basically. That's very wise slash stupid. Yeah. But I thought, I loved when he took the headphones off. I'm always wondering, now here's where we get into it with Eduardo. Eduardo always says we need to wear these giant cans on our head so that we're reminded of where to put our mouths near the microphone.
57:23and part of me thinks, huh, because wouldn't people be more relaxed and look cooler if they didn't have that burden of having these things on their ears? We've had some guests request not to do it and I think those have turned out fine. Eduardo, why don't you weigh in from your very narrow technological perspective? Happy to. There are professionals out there who I would trust to not wear headphones because they've been around mics enough times that they know to always be near them. Like DJ Jazzy Jeff or Shabadoo Shrimp. Exactly. Exactly. And then there are other people that I think are great storytellers and they start to tell stories with their hands or their body and then they start to drift away.
58:03Yeah. Who was that recently that really sat back in a chair? I can't recall. Oh, yeah. But it's been more than a few. Oh, it was Lean Along Jones. Well, he's entitled. So without the headphones. Yeah, I understand. They don't realize that they're. So I think the answer here is to improve the technology so that the microphone moves with the person. Sure. And the cameras move when the person moves and the lights move. Now, I realize this is a lot of money. The camera does move. The camera does move. They move it. Then why don't we have a belly button mark? Well, I mean. Why don't we have a belly button mark?
58:39We have a belly button mark because if we move too far, then we're in each other's shots. That's right. That's right. Why am I explaining this to you? I love it. I found you years ago. Oh God, don't even. No, don't attack me. Some shrubbery in Glendale. And you're explaining to me. No, I appreciate that. No, I understand that there needs to be a general reference point. Yeah. But I do think it's important that people are comfortable. And let's get back to the important thing. Two points. One, Eduardo has failed us. And I think also hamstrung us creatively. And I'll get you, Eduardo, if it's the last thing I do.
59:15Two Adam's with me on this one You didn't have a second point You just wanted to get on a rant Jeff Bridges No, two is Let's get back to Jeff Bridges Can you be more Jeff Bridges? Can you try You know what? I honestly believe that I should Go across the Jeff Bridge Go across the bridges of Jefferson County And be more like Jeff Bridges I hope you're proud I hope you're happy with yourself So far And you know what? That's staying in That was so I stand by that. I'm proud of that. You are proud of it? I want it on my tombstone. Yeah. Trust me, it'll go on your tombstone and it'll be soon. I love him.
59:53You know, I'm ordained in the Church of Dude. Is that true? Yeah. I was officiating one of my closest friends' weddings once, and I was so nervous because when you get ordained, you've done it. It takes minutes online. Yeah. And so I got ordained at four different online churches, and one was the Church of Dude. Why four? Because I got nervous, I wasn't ordained enough. Oh, my God. It's like it's good to have different passports. You never know what's going to come down. It is. And you didn't want to bring that up while he was here. I was nervous around him. He made me nervous. There are very few people who've been here who've made me nervous, and Jeff Bridges.
1:00:28He's so chill. I'm going to say this. I know, but I love him so much. I'm going to say this. I do, and I'm saying this not as a joke or anything. At my stage in my life, my career, I do think it should be a mission of mine to become, I'm being completely honest, more like Jeff Bridges. I don't want to. What else is the point? What's the point? And it'd be one thing if you could say, yeah, but he's a great example because his body of work is fantastic. And I think he's lived this ethos. He's authentic. It doesn't seem to be affecting it. Did you notice too, after we finished, he got up and he just did this.
1:01:08Now, can I just say something? I used to do that around the interns, and I was spoken to. I was spoken to. It looked so much cooler when he did it. I'm not denying that. It's going on my tombstone. This is a podcast. You should explain what you did. Yeah. I think the audience gets it. Okay. And you need to not do that around interns. I used to do it and say, it's old lighthouse crotch. And not the shape. It's the illumination. Yeah, Jeff Bridges stood up and he stuck his tummy out and sort of did like a rotation. Like he's hula hooping without a hula hoop. Hula hooping without a hula hoop is fine.
1:01:43And yeah, I think that that's something I would never do. I don't have that. He's just so comfortable with himself. Yes. He's got like a stoners vibe. He does. I think. Yeah. So I wonder. I don't know. Does he partake? Hey, I have a question. Why don't. Well, I was going to say we become stoners now, but Sona is a stoner. but but like you and I Matt we have we have we have a similar thing I think which is uh we're probably worriers we prepare a little a little wound tightly and I was thinking the other day like at this point why not just I don't know just become a stoner that part about just practice about you know what you said really resonated me when you're talking to that person who is ill and that how you lose it because the cable goes wrong what else is the point well you know what it is I think we drift.
1:02:33There's constant drift. You're never in a fixed place. So I saw this in New York on 9-11, after 9-11, 9-12, 9-13. I mean, everywhere you went, people were asking each other, how are you? You'd go to a restaurant. The waitress would come over. The waitress would sit with us. We'd talk. How are you? Where do you live? How are you getting to work? Is everyone you know okay? It was just incredible. And then I remembered thinking, I think it lasted like three and a half weeks. And then people went back to being, you know, we're New Yorkers and I'm not, this is nothing about New York. It's the same, it would be the same thing in Boston.
1:03:11It would be the same thing in Los Angeles, San Francisco. We're human beings. So hit us over the head really hard with a two by four. And we have this incredible wisdom and generosity of spirit. And then wait 20 minutes and it's like, Hey, I said, I want chiclets. You know, that's the kind of gum. Give me my chiclets. Yeah. You know. Are chicklets gum? Wow. I had no idea. Did you know about chicklets? I don't know if something I'm saying is. Can you just be more like Jeff Bridges, please? Okay. He would not do what you just did. Try it. You were like, oh, this moment in history. And then you immediately do something very un-JB.
1:03:48Yeah. And it's not. You're. You just. You have a long way to go. Go over a Jeff Bridge too far. You have to stop making bridge jokes. I'm going to need three tombstones. How many tombstones can one man have? Oh, my God. You cannot have too many too quickly. I'll put you there. You know what? You two have a lot of work to do. I feel like I'm there, man. Yeah, he wouldn't have gotten, he wouldn't have thrown out, even if he did say chicklets, he'd just say it. Yeah. And then if you picked up on it, you picked up on it. But I'm like, do you know what that is? Is that still a gum? I don't want to look like I'm too out of touch.
1:04:20I should have just said it. But Sona, also, you are the most Jeff Bridges of us all. But if you were at true peak Jeff Bridges, you wouldn't have had a problem with that. joke I made. He would have been like, all right, man. He wouldn't have laughed. Yeah, he wouldn't have laughed. But he would have appreciated it. I don't think anyone would have laughed. I don't even think it's funny. I think a hyena that was laughing, there would have been a cessation of laughter. Start crying. If there was a hyena here going, ah, ah, ah, bridge is too far, ah. He would have just turned into a coyote. Stone cold silence.
1:04:54And then the minute I come back in the room, ah, ah, ah. I don't like the tone of this. It's time to wrap. All right. Well, anyway, Jeff Bridges, you are a very special, cool spirit, and we're indebted to you. And let's all try to be more doodular as we move forward on this podcast. Amen. You could have just ended there. No. Oh, God. Conan O 'Brien Needs a Friend with Conan O 'Brien, Sonam of Sessian, and Matt Gourley. Produced by me, Matt Gourley. Executive produced by Adam Sachs, Jeff Ross, and Nick Liao Theme song by The White Stripes Incidental music by Jimmy Vivino Take it away, Jimmy
1:05:39Our supervising producer is Aaron Blair And our associate talent producer is Jennifer Samples Engineering and mixing by Eduardo Perez and Brendan Burns Additional production support by Mars Melnick Talent booking by Paula Davis, Gina Batista, and Britt Kahn You can rate and review this show on Apple Podcasts, and you might find your review read on a future episode. Got a question for Conan? Call the Team Coco hotline at 669-587-2847 and leave a message. It too could be featured on a future episode. You can also get three free months of SiriusXM when you sign up at SiriusXM.com slash Conan. And if you haven't already, please subscribe to Conan O 'Brien Needs a Friend wherever fine podcasts are downloaded.
1:06:24Thank you.
From the publisher
Actor Jeff Bridges feels very open and a lot of love about being Conan O’Brien’s friend.
Jeff sits down with Conan to discuss his early work in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, pouring himself into his music with his albums Emergent Behavior Volumes 1-5, the lasting legacy of The Dude, and how his cancer diagnosis give him new perspective on life. Later, Conan and his team pitch actionable ways to emulate Jeff Bridges in their own lives.
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