"Aubrey Plaza"

11:26Sean Hayes:Why did that happen? I don't remember anything. Well, I remember you came to us with the idea. You were like, how can we get gum going again? I think is what you said. Yeah, that sounds like me. Gum's been ignored. You've always been a big advocate for gum.

11:39Will Arnett:I've got a friend that doesn't chew gum because he doesn't understand why you chew something and not swallow it. Like, he just literally doesn't understand the concept of it. Is that kind of like, if you think about it, it kind of makes sense. I feel that way about dancing. I don't understand why you just kind of just move your body in the rhythm of the sound you're hearing. It's like, why are we doing this? Boy, that's a really tough connection. No, I understand. I'm not proud of it. It just somehow didn't just go, the idea didn't go in right. It feels good when you connect a part of your body at the same time the music is doing it.

12:13Aubrey Plaza is on our show, guys.

12:15Sean Hayes:What is going on? This is insane, Aubrey. What do you want? I want to get down. What makes you tick? Obviously, I know that, so I'm not going to get into that. I know it makes you tick. It's gum. Nope. It's gum. It's been a minute. I'm trying to think. Yeah, how are you? I saw you last summer, I feel like. I saw you over the summer, yeah. Yeah. Where were we? We were out east, as we say. Okay. Oh, on Long Island. Out east, yeah. We're on Long Island. Which I'm always corrected because I always say up. Up east? I'm going up state or up whatever. You know who does that too? Who does that incessantly is Polar.

12:52Yeah.

12:53Sean Hayes:She says up. She says up for everything.

12:55Will Arnett:Never up. I think you need to be two hours north of Manhattan to be upstate. Up. Right. I don't know. I just don't know. I'm learning about the Long Island. It goes the other way.

13:05Sean Hayes:Well, it does go east, but it does go kind of north too. It is kind of angled. Aubrey Plaza's on the show today, everybody.

13:12Will Arnett:Hey, welcome, Aubrey. Well, Sean, do you want to start with a little? a little... Sure. She knows that. You know I adore you. I run into you at the gym sometimes. Sean, I was at your opening. I forgot to text you. Wait a second. You were? We were at the opening. Oh, my God. Jason wants to know about this. Okay, walk us through. I was there. Wait. You were at the opening when the lights went out. Yes, I was. Yeah. That was really. So we weren't at the opening. When were we there, Sean? You were the day after. The day after. Wait. Oh, I didn't know. You handled that great, by the way. You were awesome.

13:41Oh, thanks.

13:42Sean Hayes:Thank you. Really? So Aubrey, you went to the show, and you enjoyed it, and Sean was great, and then you did not go back and say hi to him. Oh, here we go. No, I bolted the minute it was over. Jason, thoughts. Okay. I understand that. Nobody wants to talk after. No, they don't. Nobody wants that.

13:59Will Arnett:Well, Sean does, and then he wants to take a picture in the elevator. Oh, no, not me. Jesus Christ, the photo book you could make in the elevator. What's going on, Sean? I leave while people are standing. Scotty takes all those photos. I know he does, bless him. Now, Aubrey, you're a theater gal. You've done your runs at, what is it, ATC and a couple other hot spots I've seen on the Wikipedia page.

14:22Sean Hayes:It's so insinuating when you say it like that. I've done two plays. I know.

14:26Will Arnett:Well, it's two more than I've done. I'm very jealous. But you're more seasoned than I am, so you might have a take on this. I have heard that it is polite. Oh, here we go. So polite and industry norm to if you're famous and the person in the play is famous, well, then you kind of have to go backstage and say, hi, I'm famous, you're famous, I enjoyed your show. And if you don't, then that is you're effectively saying I didn't like the piece. No. This is what I hear. Well, not at the opening. Everybody was there. Very impolite. Not at the opening, though, right? The opening is a... There's just too many people there.

15:03It doesn't matter either way to me, honestly. I swear to God. I know, but I guess when I'm talking. Anna Wintour was there. Wow. Anna Wintour, and she emailed me after. Anna, really? You're so nice. I really did mean to email you. You were great. I really mean, I meant to. Is it Wintour or Winter? Wintour, I think, because it's T-O-U-R. Anna Wintour? I don't know. I'm not sure. Aubrey, I remember the, I said this to you before many times, and I know we've run into each other a million times, and I love you, is the first time I met you, which is, I was in Amy Poehler's trailer. I was on the set of Parks and Rec and the whole cast was in there.

15:39Amy lives in a trailer? Yeah. And you were sitting there with Aziz and Amy and just tons of other people on the crew, other people. Sounds like a packed trailer. It was. There was lots of people in there. And I said, I looked at you and I go, what do you do on the show? Are you working on the crew? You said, I'm on the show. Really? I don't remember that. That's okay. I felt so bad and I emailed you a long email after. You felt bad enough

16:08Sean Hayes:that you wanted to bring it up again today? Yeah, yeah. As a reminder? I thought we met at the gym.

16:13Will Arnett:Remember when I insulted you? And then we met at the gym. What did she, did she strike you as a PA? No, you were the quietest one. Like, you didn't say anything in the trailer. I didn't know what was going on. I didn't even realize I was on a television show for like two seasons. I do believe that.

16:28Sean Hayes:I do believe that. Yeah. Now, so let's go,

16:31Will Arnett:Let's stay with Parks and Rec. Is it true, Wiki says, that you talked Mike Schur and Greg Daniels into changing the part to be a little bit more how it is, how it became? It wasn't originally that. True? Untrue? What do you mean? Like as the show went on? No, no. Like when you went in there and you first met with them, you were like, the part was written a certain way and you were like, yeah, but wouldn't it be funnier if it was this? I don't think they had technically written it yet, but I remember I went in for a general meeting and I really didn't have any idea how much weight was on that meeting because I didn't have any agent.

17:11Will Arnett:Alison Jones set you up with that general? Alison Jones. I came out because I was screen testing for Judd Apatow's movie. And that was huge for me because I was plucked out of nowhere. And then I was in LA for a week and I hadn't really been to LA. So Allison was like, do you mind if I just send you on a couple other meetings? And I was like, isn't your agent supposed to do that? Sure, lady. I didn't have an agent yet. What a nice lady she is.

17:35Sean Hayes:Wait, wait. Plaza, what were you doing? I didn't have an agent yet. What were you doing? Where did she pluck you from and how? UCB. She found me at a whore house. Oh, no. Aubrey. What's the problem? What's the problem? Plaza, don't say that. Things are hard out there. No, don't say that, Plaza. I was at Howard Beach, Queens in a whorehouse. Oh, my God. Googling, Googling. I was doing UCB shows, and I was, it was, I don't know, actually. She, I think it was, yeah, I was doing UCB, and Judd was doing, like, a very wide casting call because he wanted to cast an unknown comedian to play this part.

18:20and so I made it up the ranks, like sending my videos in and stuff and then I made it and then I kind of like made, Allison saw my tape, I somehow got a tape to her with the scene and then, yeah, so then it was like, I made it all the levels to the point where they were like, and now you're gonna come to LA and do a screen test.

18:41Sean Hayes:Yeah, and were you like on, did you have like your own sketch group at UCB or? yeah I was like I was in a sketch group called That's My Booze uh huh who were your contemporaries at that time cause I remember you were a little after I wasn't hanging around UCB as much cause I remember Aziz and those guys and Riggle and Sheer and those guys back in those days when they were all there yeah like Aziz and I were kind of in the same class but Aziz wasn't really doing like improv so much but he would be in the sketch you know part of it and then like you know it was like Kroll and Manzoukas and Pally and Zach Woods and Lennon Parham and all those guys like were kind of above me like Anthony King and Kate Spencer and Joe Wenger and Chris Gethard and I could go on but they were kind of like so much talent seniors when I was like a freshman but I was kind of young and I was friends with them and I was like dating Joe Wangard at the time, who was kind of running the school.

19:49Will Arnett:Like the, that. There's a fly. I know, now it's over here. It's anxiety, I have to move my arms like this.

19:57Sean Hayes:Were you, would you go to like ASCAD on Sunday nights, or at least watch, or? Yeah, yeah. These are all sketch shows. Yeah, I mean, when I was, yeah, I would watch, I would stand in the back. I would see ASCAD. Did I ever meet you back then, like back before we became friends? So many times. No, you're kidding. No, don't say it like that. So many times. Don't say it like that. I'm sure we met. I don't remember anything. Do you miss sketch comedy? Everyone was drunk in those days. That's true. Yeah, I miss sketch comedy. Yeah. I would love to do like a sketch.

20:28Will Arnett:It's still happening, you know, you guys. It's still going on. Where? Yeah, no, you can find it. By the way, where? UCB's still going, yes? Hello? Yeah. I don't... Guys, anybody can answer this. it's changed right I don't know it's going I think it was gone like somebody bought it or something and now it's back it's a very different yes it's back but it's a different I'm so I feel I do feel very removed from because I was I never did even UCB in LA like UCB LA to me was like what this isn't

21:02Sean Hayes:anything you were only New York you were up on 8th Avenue I was in that Grissidi's basement yeah in the Grissidi's basement yeah yeah yeah yeah

21:12Will Arnett:And we will be right back. The future of law is agentic. Not just tools that assist, but AI agents that navigate complex matters. Harvey was built on legal agents that analyze, draft, and execute with precision. But great lawyers don't just complete tasks. They strategize. That's why Harvey created agents that can do the work from end to end. They build a plan, pull from secure data sources, run sub-agents in parallel, and draft the work product ready for your review. So, you delegate the work and own the judgment. Harvey Agents support work across fund formation, litigation, regulatory compliance, M &A, and more, adapting to the complexity of each matter and the way your team actually works.

22:05Will Arnett:trusted by more than 60 % of the AmLaw 100 and leading Fortune 500 legal teams. Harvey is the AI operating system designed specifically for legal work, helping teams move faster with greater precision and confidence. Harvey, AI tailored for law. Learn more at Harvey.ai. Harvey does not provide legal advice, and users should always independently review and verify any output provided by Harvey.

22:34Will Arnett:Listener, are you running? Are you gunning? Are you maxing out your energy and just trying to figure out how to keep your tanks filled? Well, I'm with you. And for me, that usually means nourishment. Cliff Bar is an energy bar designed for sustained energy and fuel that you can reach for when running, hiking, riding, or pushing through workouts and longer days. Cliff Bar delivers fast-acting and long-lasting energy to help fuel performance before and during activity. It is baked and tastes great. Made with organic rolled oats and includes 9 to 11 grams of protein, depending on the flavor. Cliff Bar is built for active lifestyles and for people who challenge themselves.

23:19Will Arnett:Raise your bar with Cliff Bar.

23:26Summer's here, and whether you're traveling, shuttling kids to camp, or spending long days by the pool, staying healthy and on budget is always top of mind. That's where GoodRx can help. GoodRx helps you save up to 80 % on prescriptions for you and your family, even your pets too. Just check GoodRx before every pharmacy run to find big savings on both brand name and generic medications. GoodRx is free and easy to use. Just search for your prescription on the website or the app, compare prices and get a free coupon to show your pharmacist. Use GoodRx to save at over 70 ,000 pharmacies nationwide, including Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, Publix, Kroger, and many more.

24:07GoodRx is not insurance, but works whether you have insurance or not. And it could even beat your copay price. Save time and money at the pharmacy this summer. Go to GoodRx.com slash smartless. That's GoodRx.com slash smartless.

24:27and now back to the show

24:30Will Arnett:all right so then uh upright citizens brigade for for for tracy and and the rest who don't that that is an improv sketch place you go and um you see you you yell a sort of a prompt to the

24:43Sean Hayes:to the talented folks on stage and that was that was ascat that was the one show when they would do like a herald. That's one type of thing. Yeah, basically. But it was a place that was created by Amy Poehler and by Matt Walsh and Matt Besser and Ian Roberts. Right. And they came from Chicago and they created this thing. They were a sketch group by Party Citizen Brigade and then they created this whole theater and a school and stuff in New York back in the day. Yeah, like Second City. And they would do those heralds like you said Sunday nights they do ASCAD, Jason, which you went to many times.

25:09I was on a herald team. That's how, that was the thing. You wanted to be on a herald team. That was the main.

25:14Sean Hayes:And a herald was that where you have a suggestion and then you kind of bring everything back and you're kind of telling a long form improv. Go ahead, Jason. But yes, so. My explanation was a tenth of how long yours was going to be.

25:26Will Arnett:No, mine was going to actually be one of the rare Jason short things. I don't know. I was going to get to, this is a place where you go where there is no pre-written dialogue.

25:38Sean Hayes:Yes.

25:39Will Arnett:You then, Aubrey Plaza, went on to start your acting career. Yes, with the scripted stuff. And how did you find that? How did you find that transition where you have to now, instead of making up what you say, follow what is already pre-written, the typical actor journey? I mean, I always, that's what I, I love movies. I'm like a movie person, really. I mean, I love comedy and improv, but for me it was always like, how do I get to the movies part? Like, that was always, you know. And what was the first stuff? Were you doing some of that scripted stuff while you were also playing around over there?

26:23I mean, I tried. I was, like, you know, auditioning for whatever I could when I was doing comedy stuff.

26:29Will Arnett:But it really didn't start until you came out here to L.A.? Yeah. I mean, I really, truly did have, like, a big break moment. With Parks and Rec? Funny People was technically first. Oh, Funny People, yeah. You know, I've told the story. So then you got that Judd screen test. You got it. Yeah. So basically, like, I went out to L.A. for one week and I got, I booked Funny People, Parks and Rec, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World in one week. Boom. Oh, my God. Wow. That's crazy. Boom, bada, bang. And it was like, what? Did Allison cast Scott Pilgrim, too? What? Did Allison cast Scott Pilgrim, too? Yeah.

27:09She sent me on all those meetings. And like the Parks and Rec meeting, like not to backtrack, was like they hadn't written the script yet. And Mike and Sher and Greg Daniels were in the room. And I just went into Mike's office and I was just having a casual conversation with him. And he just kind of said like, what? You know what else you booked that week?

27:27Will Arnett:Michael Cera. Let's talk about Michael Cera. Wait, what? She's got Pilgrim, you mean? What? But didn't you guys, you guys dated for a while, right? Didn't you guys date for a while? Yeah. But this was news to me when I was reading Wikipedia this morning. Book that baby right in. He was my son, and you were my daughter at one point. Oh, I'm sorry, okay, sure, sure. You know, so it was like, oh, well, that's kind of sort of like your dad's. Booked and bagged him real good.

27:53Sean Hayes:Booked and bagged. Well, we found our first cut. There we go. We found our first cut. No, I'm kidding.

28:00Will Arnett:But Wiki said it was 18 months. That's a significant relationship. That's a good thing, right? Was it? Wow. That was a long time ago. We were going to get married for a second. And we're still very good friends. I love him so much. We almost got married. We drove across the country together eating a bag of edibles. Edibles. Crumbs of edibles. And we drove to Vegas with the plan to get married and then get divorced right away so we could call each other our ex-wife and ex-husband forever because we thought that would be a really good bit. That's a great bet. Yeah, that is a good bet. But then I think it was a combination of being too high and paranoid.

28:43And then at that time, he was just very, very famous at that time. He like really, if you remember like when Nick and Nora and all that stuff came out, he was super bad. He was so recognizable that like we won. I feel like we got in line at the county office or something. And then everyone started running and we ran. so that's kind of all I remember

29:06Will Arnett:wow the fame saved you yeah the rare case I'm pretty sure that's how it went down yeah we bailed now what I'm going to stay in again what the great great Wikipedia has laid out for me here going in chronological order and I'm sorry if this is a we don't have to talk about this if you don't want to but it is, I think you've talked about it before. There was, at that time, you had a rare stroke that a young person, very rare for a young person to have a stroke. I did. I had one at, I was 20, so it was before then. But it was when I was in New York, yeah. I was doing, yeah, I was doing UCB comedy stuff.

29:50I was in college.

29:52Will Arnett:You've got Sean's attention. Sean is running from a stroke every day. Oh, you didn't know? Yeah. No, I didn't know that. Tell me, wait, how did you, how did it, like, how did it happen? and what did you feel? It happened like truly in mid-sentence out of nowhere. It's a horrifying story. You just start exploring your words. It's a horrifying story. I had taken my sister to a Hilary Duff concert the night before. Sure. Yeah. And you know how that goes. And then I was having lunch in Queens. I took the subway. I was feeling normal. I had my coat on still. I walked into my friend's apartment in Astoria to have lunch.

30:32with them and I was telling them about the Hilary Duff concert and I said like Hilary Duff and then I stroked out and I kind of the first thing that happened was like my right arm was numb and I looked down and I was confused I wasn't slurring but I was looking at my arm like that's not my arm it wasn't even numb it was just not connected to my body and then wow then I kind of blacked out for like a second and then i came to could move my arms but i couldn't speak because the blood clot was in my language center oh my gosh so it was like not even slurring it was just like not talking not talking but i could understand everything that was happening how does somebody at 20 years old get a blood clot or get a heart attack or whatever or stroke i don't know it's a honestly it's a mystery i i think it's it was birth control orthotricycline that was the only thing i was putting in my body like i wasn't on drugs or you know doing anything weird so um it was a real fluke like and even to this day like i still have to you know whenever i go to the doctors i have to fill out like my history and right i've seen i've seen top neurologists i've been tested for you know all the blood disorders and clotting disorders and everything and it's just like i really think it must have been birth control because they have the that on the label

31:57Will Arnett:so then what well did they were you were you fine right then or did they take you to the hospital like how do they fix i was not fine because i wasn't i wasn't i wasn't talking and so my friends were like first of course thought i was doing a bit and they were like stop it And then they realized like something's wrong. And so the paramedics came. And sorry, are you lucid at this point? Like are you aware that this is happening to you? I'm aware. Like it's a really weird thing when you have a stroke. I've read books about it. And it's across the board really similar experience that people have.

32:32You know what's happening. And your brain, it really makes you understand that there's your brain and then there's something else going on, which is very profound. to think about because I was, whatever that other thing is, was watching my brain malfunction. And so I was, me was aware that my brain wasn't working right. So it's this really fucked up thing where you're like, wait a minute, like my consciousness is operating on another level. And so people would talk to me and I would know how to respond to them. I would know the answer, but I could not get it through the pathways of my brain out of my mouth.

33:13Sean Hayes:Wow. Did you, did it, I mean this, did you, after that experience, did it give you a sort of a different sense on, I don't know how to say it, like spirituality? Did you feel like a, do you have, as you said, because you're sort of conscious or whatever this other thing that's operating. Yeah, did it change your view? Did it change the way that, yeah, did it change the way that you look at stuff and look at spirituality and stuff like that? Yeah, like 100 million percent. Like I definitely... Hondo P. Hondo P just felt like, all right, well, if that's true, then like something bigger is going.

33:52I am very fascinated with that. Yeah, I am too now.

33:56Sean Hayes:Well, so when I say, I guess it did change, but were you, I don't know, sounds like such a sort of sweeping question, were you a spiritual person before? But did you have – what were your thoughts on that kind of stuff before? Well, I grew up Catholic. I grew up very Catholic. I went to all-girls Catholic school my whole life. And so my spirituality was very wrapped up in like saints and God and Jesus and things like that. But I would say that I've always – I feel like I've always been a spiritual person. And, you know, now I've shifted into more the dark arts, you know. Oh, goats and... Sure, yeah.

34:40You're like, by the way, can I get a sample of your guys' blood after this?

34:44Sean Hayes:And then she goes, don't bother, I've already got it. I've already got it. It's my shtick. The whole witch thing. But, no, I am. And I think I did really stop, at least for some time, like sweating the small stuff a little bit. I did really feel like, wow, A, the trauma of something like that happening so out of nowhere changes the way your brain is. Because you're like, well, okay, if that can happen like that, then the fuck else can happen. And what's the point of, you know.

35:16Will Arnett:Right. You're not walking around thinking like that can happen like today, are you? Not anymore. But I was after that. I was very PTSD. Yeah, I would be too.

35:24Sean Hayes:Did it make you less cynical, do you think? I think, yeah, I think so. Yeah. Even though contrary to popular. That might straighten you out, Will. No, I don't think that you're cynical at all. I don't. But you would never take birth control, whatever that thing is now, right? I probably wouldn't. For Aubrey. But if that was the one thing that you could kind of point to.

35:54Well, there's a baby inside of me.

35:55Will Arnett:What's that? Hold. Hold? Wait, wait, wait. Wait, what did you say? What did you say? No, I said there is a baby inside of me right now.

36:05Sean Hayes:Is that a true story? Is that true? Yeah, it's true. What?

36:09Will Arnett:Wait, seriously? That's amazing.

36:12Sean Hayes:That's so good. Oh, thanks. That's very exciting. I know. It's shocking, isn't it? I know. That's really cool. That's really, really cool. Is this baby number one? Yes. That's right. I never won. Oh, how exciting, Aubrey. I'll just say this. Today was a big day. I went to the doctors today, and my dog has also went to the doctors. Also pregnant? My dog's getting a scan right now. I got a scan earlier. I'm not kidding. Frankie's getting an ultrasound on her stomach. She'll be back. When is she back? 2 o 'clock. We'll find out. I think she's okay. She had to get an ultrasound on her stomach. And then I got an ultrasound on my stomach, and there is a baby in there.

36:56Sean Hayes:that's amazing that's so exciting I'm so happy for you yeah and it already has like a cloak and a little hat and um no I think it's gonna come out but let me ask you something

37:07Will Arnett:if the ultrasound if you got the ultrasound out at the vet I would recommend that you go no no no Jason no that we did I did accidentally go to the vet first but that's why I was late

37:18Sean Hayes:Aubrey I'm so happy for you I just I just think you know that I just think you're such a great person and Oh, you'll be a fantastic mom. I'm really happy for you. I'm really, really, really happy for you. That's so awesome. You've always got... Oh, you're so funny and you're so... You're just such a great person. Yeah, aren't you excited about being a mom? You're going to be great. I am, yeah. I've always wanted to see what that's all about. You know? It just seems so interesting. How incredible. Thank you so much for sharing it with us. Congratulations. This is all great news. It's very, very thrilling.

37:54Sean Hayes:I mean, you've been so busy, too. I mean, you... Are you working right now? First of all, I was realizing last year, I want to talk about this because I don't think it got enough. And you and I texted about it last year. I watched your movie, Emily the Criminal. And I know it's long gone and whatever. I thought that was such a great movie. Your performance in that was so, so good, Plaza. I mean... Thank you. Really, I don't know if you guys saw it. What an awesome movie and what a great performance. All I know is every time I see you in any...

38:22Will Arnett:I didn't see that particular one, but every time I see you in anything, I'm always stunned by how confident you are in being still. I just find it's so, I don't know, it's not attractive or infectious is not the word I'm looking for. As an audience member, I'm just, I'm drawn in and I can't stop watching somebody who's so comfortable not helping me as an audience member knowing what's going on. inside your head. You know, like I lean forward.

38:55Sean Hayes:And being able to do that, JB, like in a drama where you have to be very sort of vulnerable, very real, and then being able to also do it in comedy. You have such facility with all of it. And I think it's really impressive. It's so subtle. I hope people go back and re-watch that and then continue to watch the newer stuff. But I wanted to say that because you know how much I love that movie. Thank you for saying that. I love that movie. That was such a baby of mine, that film. I'm so proud of it. But like I just want – the script was so good. And I was like as a producer, you know, just like if we could just – it really taught me that it is always the fucking script.

39:34It's like it is the fucking script. I'm like if we shoot the script exactly how it's written, the movie is going to be good. And it was – we didn't compromise and that was what I was so proud of. We really didn't compromise the script. And then the movie turned out great. And obviously so many other things have to happen to make that happen, but it taught me that.

39:53Will Arnett:Where did your taste for what your particular style, where did that come from? Was one of your parents particularly dry? Was there an actor or an actress that you really admired coming up? I don't know. I don't know. I don't even think, I mean, I don't even know. It's hard for me to really have perspective on that at all because I feel like the deadpan, maybe that's how I wasn't really always like that. That wasn't really my thing. But then I think that the things that I got cast in first, character-wise, for me, I'm not saying, oh, I'm a method actor. But like, I do think that like, I capitalized on this persona early on because the funny people role was really based on, you know, and I know it wasn't officially said, but I'm pretty sure that it was based on Janine Garofalo.

40:56And so, and I kind of knew that and I studied her and her stand up. Right.

41:01Will Arnett:Also incredibly dry and hilarious. Right. And she was like, you know, she's such a hero of mine, like loved watching her. And then the Parks and Rec character was also kind of born out of that same. There was a lot of stuff that there was a zone there that I was like, I couldn't do that. Are you ever, are you ever, do you ever allow yourself to think somewhat strategically about, well, maybe I should play a part that shows that I can do all the other side of the spectrum as well? I mean, is that, do you, are you one of those actors that, that, that considers that kind of thing? I mean, I think when I was on Parks, definitely, because I was always like, get me out of this zone.

41:42I got to show people what I can do. So I was always like, Dirty Grandpa was an example where I was like, get me that fucking part. That has nothing to do with it. But now I'm more just like, I just want to be, I just honestly just want to be in something good. It's not even about, oh, I want to blow everyone away with my performance, but I want to be in movies that people remember,

42:07Will Arnett:watch more than once, that don't just float away into the ether that it's like that never happened. And the producing effort is in that direction, yeah? Is it to sort of like start to cook your own food, right? As opposed to just react to the phone ringing. Yeah, I mean, I'm still an actor. I'm still like, why is no one calling me? like where am I

42:35Sean Hayes:I find that hard to believe I find that really hard no I mean no no no I get a lot of I get a lot of I'm in a very good I'm very grateful for my you know position whatever I get offered things of course but like I still have that like actor thing where I'm like but producing I think was at first very much about like alright well if I'm not gonna get you know offered parts that I really want then I'll just fucking do it myself Right. But now it's more, but then I really, but I really, I went to film school. You know, I studied film. At NYU. I studied directing and producing and I truly love the craft of filmmaking.

43:13Like I really love movies. So like it also has nothing to do with acting and it's really about just start, you know, making something from the very beginning to the very end and seeing it through and being like, you know, how can I make a great film?

43:27Will Arnett:Did you have a favorite movie this year? the Oscars was like a month ago you know did you love any of those? this year was really tough for me I just could not get into any of it I will say and I don't understand why Eddington I know why everyone's pretending that movie didn't happen hello that movie's fucking great and I don't want to hear it that movie's great I love that movie too What the hell was that? Where did that go? I don't understand. Apparently, like, it wasn't embraced at Cannes where it premiered. Whatever. So the story goes. No divisive filmmakers. I mean... Embrace. Yeah, that was a stunning movie.

44:13Will Arnett:I thought that was incredible. In certain regard, this motherfucker.

44:17Sean Hayes:I'm sitting on a really stupid pun, but it's too far removed from what we were talking about. Just go for it now. No, but it's just like OCD now. I just want to get it out. Okay. And you've stopped the momentum, so while we're stopped. Oh, you were saying the parts are coming, and then the parts that you want, and I go, maybe you could do some parts for fun, and you could call them parts for recreation. You know what I mean? And I'm just saying it would be... What I'm saying is, had I said that back then, I wouldn't have had to stop everything. And this is why people hate me on this show. We'll trim it.

44:51Sean Hayes:We'll trim it.

44:51Will Arnett:We'll tighten it all up. Yep. We'll be right back. Do you ever do some spring cleaning and realize, boy, this mattress I have isn't the greatest? And you know what? I think I might need an upgrade. Helix Sleep helps make that upgrade easy with mattresses built around comfort, support, and better rest. Helix makes mattress shopping straightforward with a sleep quiz that matches you to the right fit. They are the most awarded mattress brand reviewed by outlets like Forbes and Wired. Helix mattresses shipped free to your door include a 120-night sleep trial, a limited lifetime warranty, and the Happy with Helix guarantee so you can make the switch with confidence.

45:33You know me, I sleep on a Dux Lux every night and it feels like I'm sleeping on a cloud. I never want to get out. In fact, I'm in bed right now. Go to helixsleep.com slash smartless for 20 % off site-wide, exclusive for listeners of Smartless. That's helixsleep.com slash smartless. Make sure you enter our show name after checkout so they know we sent you helixsleep.com slash smartless.

46:03Will Arnett:This episode of Smartless is brought to you in part by Skinny Pop Popcorn. So I think one of the great journeys in life is finding the snack that's right for you. You know, and it's constantly changing. But what is constant is the love of popcorn. I think that we all have. So finding a snack that tastes great and feels like a solid choice should not be more complicated than solving a 1 ,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. Skinny Pop popcorn made with simple quality ingredients always satisfies. No overthinking required. No jigsaw puzzle assembly required. It's a no-brainer. There's the classic original Skinny Pop made with just three simple ingredients, but that's only the beginning.

46:54Will Arnett:Are you feeling a little sassy? Sweet and salty kettle brings just the right flavor balance. Settling in for a movie night, the butter flavor understands the assignment. And white cheddar is the perfect level of cheesy, if that's what you're looking for. No matter which bag you're opening, enjoy popcorn that's light, airy, and endlessly delicious. No notes. Let me tell you what stands out to me most about Skinny Pop. It's tasty, it's popcorn, and it's ready to be eaten. Deliciously popped, perfectly seasoned. Skinny Pop, popular for a reason. Getting a good deal is kind of a big deal. So get this, Prime Day is coming June 23rd through the 26th with all the best deals you've been waiting for.

47:44Prime Day delivers more than great prices. it delivers that big deal feeling. So upgrade that old mattress, score a great new pair of noise-canceling headphones, snag the garden gnome of your lawn decor dreams. Whatever you've had your eye on, you can get it for a great deal. Shop Prime Day, June 23rd through the 26th.

48:11And back to the show.

48:14Will Arnett:all right well i i i want to i want to is there a delaware right that's where we started this is where the what a question that's what i was gonna ask too but i was gonna ask like because i've only known you as an adult i'm i'm fascinated with who you were as a child and were you this dry and funny and witty and were your friends did you have a like a circle of friends that shared your sense of humor or were you like i i mean i definitely i was definitely a shy kid up until when i discovered theater like very classically like you know i i went to like the wilmington drama league which is the the community theater i i learned at and when i was like 11 and i started to see oh people are pretending to be other people this sounds really fun and so then all of a sudden i kind of understood that that was an outlet for me.

49:08And then I think I came out of my shell more. And then by the time I was like, you know, in middle school or whatever, I was like funny.

49:16Will Arnett:And then your summer program at NYU, that was sort of like, okay, a bridge has been built to the big city. And that's kind of how that, is that how that role worked? Well, I think like I had a friend who's a comedian, Neil Casey, who you probably know, Will, writer, really funny you know Neil he's an old school UCB guy him and I grew up together he was a little bit older than me but he went to the all boys brother school he introduced me to John Waters movies and to UCB the I Prayed Says Integrated show those on television and Kids in the Hall and Mr. Show and we got into like stuff like that as teenagers like young teenagers and then I started to really become like a comedy freak and then develop like my love for films and movie, you know.

50:07Who were your comedy idols?

50:09Sean Hayes:Sorry. Who were your... Did you have... I mean, Garofalo. I always like black out when people ask me questions. I know. I forget.

50:20Will Arnett:Was there any other occupation or industry or career that was battling your growing dream for this to be an actor? Like, was there any other thing that you were thinking about maybe going to college to study? No. No? This was it? You were all in. Fucking dope. I love that. I was all in. I was all in. I was like all in. Mom and dad were okay with that? What did they do? They were okay with it. My dad was in the finance world. He was a stockbroker. And my mom was a lawyer. No pressure to go into either one of those professions from them? Nope. My parents were really young when they had me. They were 19 when they had me and they had nothing when I was born, like really like hustled and worked their way up in the eighties.

51:14And, um, and like I learned from them, like how to, you know, hustle. Um, and it didn't matter like what field you were in. It was just like, they're that, that's what they taught me. And, and my mom, I think also like she went to night school when I a baby to be a lawyer and stuff, but she's really introduced me to Saturday Night Live, and she loves theater and movies, and I think in another life she would have been doing what I'm doing. Oh, that's great. So they've got to be thrilled for you then,

51:45Will Arnett:because you're just all self-created. They're so psyched, yeah. Well, let's stay there with Saturday Night Live. So you were a page at one point at 30 Rock. Oh, that's cool. I didn't know that. And then a bunch of years later, she comes back and she hosts Saturday Night Live. That must have been very surreal. That was crazy. Cray cray, right? That was crazy. I was a page 2005. It was right after. I can't remember if it was after the stroke. I think it was before the stroke. I don't know, after the stroke. But I was an intern actually in the 30 Rock building. Which is higher or lower on the power scale?

52:27It's weirdly higher than a page. Really? You would think that because pages...

52:33Will Arnett:Because an intern doesn't get paid, but a page does, right? But a page gets paid, so you would think, but like, no.

52:38Sean Hayes:A page works for the network and the intern works for the show. Exactly. And I was not a very good page. I was like fucking around too much. What was your problem? My problem was I was hung over pretty much every time. So I would have to throw up in the trash cans in the hallway, like mid-tour. What does a page do there? Well, if you don't get an assignment, which I never did, maybe once I got one, which means you get assigned to a different show. The coveted position was the Saturday Night Live pages to get assigned on SNL. But if you don't get assigned, you're just giving tours. You're on the circuit.

53:17So you had to give tours? Oh, yeah. I had tours.

53:22Will Arnett:I would love to have seen that. What would be so great about being an SNL page is it just the fact that you get to hang out there at the desk and you're like basically mission control where everyone is passing by? You just get to be there. You just get to like watch what's going on. It's pretty amazing. And like meet celebrities and get them a coffee and like whatever. So then when you come back as a host, were you, did you talk with them more? Was it just sort of just like a private little like? Or did you order them around? No, I would never talk to a page. Never. No, of course. I mean, every time I go in that building, I'm like, you know, I still know the security guards.

54:03Like, it feels, you know, that building is so, like, it's such a family vibe there. Like, it's the best. And like, I'm still, I love my bosses when I was, because I was an intern at SNL and a page, but I was an intern in the design department with, you know, Akira and Keith Raywood and Joe and Eugene.

54:27Will Arnett:The design of the sets or the costumes? The set designers for the show. And then when I hosted, I did my monologue about that. And I had those guys come on stage. It totally came full circle, but they were all... Yeah, I mean, I love going back there. Was it emotional at all? Yeah, it was really tripped out. It was very trippy. It's weird. It's very weird. So when you grew up in Delaware, is that correct? and then you moved right to New York right like when you were a kid? Yeah, I mean I moved to yeah, to go to college Oh, so Delaware your whole up until you were at college and then you went to college in New York had you been to New York before then and seen it and like I want to go there and all that?

55:14Yeah, I mean because Delaware is really only two hours south of the city. People like think it's like five hours away It's really close I take the train up all the time and then you went out to LA so basically my question is because I always talk about Scotty about living in a small town somewhere because we're constantly on either coast in New York or Los Angeles back and forth, back and forth all the time and there's something appealing about living in a small town somewhere like outside of a city but I think I might go out of my mind a little bit because I do need You feel too isolated? Yeah, and I do need the stimulation of the noise and are you like that?

55:54Um, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I like the city. I like New York. I'm back in New York. Are you back in New York now? I'm back in New York, baby. You are? Yeah. I'm back in New York.

56:04Will Arnett:So you wouldn't be able to move back to a small town again? Sean, you wouldn't be able to do that either? I don't think... I want to want it. You do. But I don't think I would last. Right. But maybe... I don't know. Sometimes I feel like I could. But where I grew up wasn't... It was a small town vibe in some ways, but Wilmington, Delaware is like, it's a proper city also, so it's not like super small town vibes. And you want to raise your family in a city like you are now? Yeah, I mean, I wasn't, you know, not totally thought through, but I'm like, yeah, I mean, East Coast for sure. My family's in Philadelphia and Delaware mainly.

56:48Oh, great. So I loved, like, one of the reasons I came back here was for that. So I can get on the train and go home, you know.

56:57Will Arnett:My grandmother, yeah. How are you when you go on a location, like when you're shooting something that's in a faraway place? Like on location? Yeah, on location. Yeah, like White Lotus, for example. Like, are you okay being disconnected from a major cosmopolitan city for a long period of time? Yeah, I'm, like, very adoptable. like I feel like I would I'm I go someplace and I'm there for for one day and I'm like this is it this is my life for the rest of my life like I'm very I think I would be okay like in jail like I'd be like this is it you just make it your home right yeah I'd be like this is what I have to eat and this is where I say that when I get into an elevator I'm like if it breaks down this is where I'm at I'm just here for several hours that's not true that's not true that's not true you kept you fucking freak out

57:45Sean Hayes:You put the volume in your elevator in London. This is a true story, Aubrey. I know. He kept a bottle of volume in his elevator at his place in case it broke down so he wouldn't freak out. So this is an absolute fallacy what you're saying right now. There's proof, recent proof of you not being okay being stuck in an elevator. But I went through, what is that therapy called? I went through that therapy. Ibogaine. EMDR? Yeah, what? No, like, what is it called? Electrotherapy. When you do the thing you're afraid of. EMDR? Shock therapy. No, I forget what it's called. Shock therapy. Anyway, exposure.

58:19Exposure therapy. Okay. Yeah. So I did that with an elevator. On the subway? And then I got you. You just opened up your trench coat?

58:26Sean Hayes:What's going on? No, I did it. I did exposure therapy and I got over it.

58:32Will Arnett:Let's talk about White Lotus for a second. Now, where did you shoot that? Sicily. Sicily. It was like four or five months in Sicily and then one month in Rome. Wow. Wow, that's pretty nice. That's pretty fun. Yeah. That sounds pretty, pretty good. It's pretty good. Is everything okay, Jay? Jay, are you okay? I'm hearing something in the other room. It's probably the Alexa chirping off. Oh, fuck.

59:02Sean Hayes:Jason just get attacked by a Roomba. Did you? Electronics are revolting.

59:09Will Arnett:Did you, is it true that the scripts are really secretive when you're doing White Lotus? Like you're not allowed to like talk about them. It's like doing Star Wars. Did you have a problem with that? I didn't have a problem with it, but yeah, I mean, you're not supposed to because he writes all of them. So you get all of them. You've read all of the episodes before you.

59:30Sean Hayes:Wow, that's so cool. He being Mike White. Mike White.

59:33Will Arnett:Right, but is there like, so there's a big secret you can't say on these shows, right? It's about somebody that dies, right? You mean say to who? To anyone, to the public. Like, what are they trying to keep it secret and locked down? Oh, yeah. Because at the center of each one of these seasons is the reveal. It's like a murder. Right, the murder mystery. The murder. Yeah, I mean, I didn't read other people's lines and other people. I didn't even know. Wait, you're not given the pages that you're not on? No, she's given them. You are. Oh, you are. Oh, she's given them. Don't worry. I've heard of productions like that.

1:00:09Will Arnett:You're only given the scenes that you're in. I just go, bullshit, bullshit, my line. Right. Uh-huh. Right. Remember? Yeah. No, I didn't read. My season was different or maybe slightly different because – or maybe it wasn't different. I don't know the secrecy. But I don't – yeah, I actually like – I read the scripts obviously, but I was so focused on my storyline that I was – I didn't even really know what was going on in the rest of the show at all. But I will say, I just was with Sandra Bernhardt, who's going to be on the next season. And I was hanging out with her last week, and I was like, did you get all the scripts?

1:00:50And she was like, yeah. And just nothing.

1:00:55Sean Hayes:And I didn't care. I'm not trying to get the secret out of her, but she had that white lotus look in her eye. Sandra Bernhardt, you know it well.

1:01:04Will Arnett:Did you guys all see King of Comedy way back in the day? Of course. One of my all-time favorite movies. I love that movie. Aubrey, what do you have coming up that you're super excited about? Because I know you've got a lot of projects going on. Oh, well, the main thing that I believe, and I believe this is like dropping the day that this comes out, which is today, which is Kevin, my new animated series that I co-created and starred in and produced on Amazon Prime. On Prime Video. Oh, great. Prime Video. Excuse me. And let's tell our listeners what that is about, the show Kevin. So Kevin. Your voice is so loud.

1:01:46Will Arnett:It's a lovely title. Who is Kevin? Oh, God. Kevin is a cartoon based on a real true story that was about my actual cat that I shared with Joe Wenger when we lived in Astoria, Queens. at the time that we were talking about Will, all that UCB era. And we had a cat named Kevin, who was an alley cat. We actually had two cats, Kevin and Howard. They were brothers. But Kevin survived longer, so the show is about Kevin. But the show is basically about a couple that is living in Queens based on me and Joe that break up, and they have to tell their cat because in the show, animals and humans interact. And they tell Kevin, like, we're breaking up.

1:02:38So who are you going with, me or him? And Kevin's like, you know what? I'm not going with either of you. I don't want to be with you. I don't want to be with you. I want to go out on my own and be with the single cats. And I want to play the field. So Kevin goes and lives at a shelter with all the other single cats. And they kind of, they date owners and see and decide, you know, negotiate with humans and decide, maybe I'll live with this guy. I don't know. That's funny.

1:03:03Will Arnett:And who's playing Kevin? Kevin is voiced by Jason Schwartzman. Nice. Who's so funny because Kevin's this kind of like neurotic cat. He's got a really messed up butthole that he's fixated on. He's constantly talking about his weird butthole in therapy. Same. And he's just got a lot of like interesting. Grow up. Jason wrote the music. Jason wrote the music for the show too? Jason wrote the theme song, which is so fucking catchy. You know, Jason's a killer drummer. Yeah. He's a crazy good drummer. He's so talented. Yes, he is. Yeah, he wrote the theme song. It's awesome. It has this like really like, yeah, early 2000s, like indie rock vibe.

1:03:48And then the cast is just insane. It's like John Waters plays Armando the cat, who's this kind of snobby Persian cat queen that lives in Queens. Whoopi Goldberg plays a hairless freak cat. Amy Sedaris plays like a little yappy dog that's bossing everybody around. Oh, man. I play a human, among other things. I play a drunk spider and different kinds of characters.

1:04:20Will Arnett:That's great. You didn't have to play two or three characters. You didn't run out of people you could have gone to. I mean, you got Will, who's done quite a bit of voice work. Sean's done some. I've done some. We can't afford it. If you ever get tired of playing multiple characters, you know, just saying. I will. That is a really good cast. Isn't it? It's fucking stacked. And the guest stars are amazing. The show's really, really funny. We've been working on it since before the pandemic. You know, animation takes so long. So long, right. And it's really funny. I'm so proud of it. I think people are going to love it.

1:04:54Sean Hayes:Schwartzman used to do a show, a weekly show on SiriusXMU where he'd play all sorts of like, you know, deep cuts. Yeah, deep independent music cuts. And it was so good. I used to listen to it every week. I'm such a fan of his in every way. Yeah, his taste in music is so good. Really good.

1:05:16Will Arnett:So good. Yeah, really, really good. I wonder if he, is he, he's not, I think he used to be in a band back in the day. Yeah, he was in a band.

1:05:22Sean Hayes:Yeah.

1:05:23Will Arnett:Phantom Planet. He's not like in a dad band now.

1:05:26Sean Hayes:His band wrote the theme song to Orange County. Isn't that right? Yeah. Oh, the show. The show Orange County? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

1:05:35Will Arnett:Yeah. Wait, wasn't that on while we were doing Arrested Development? It sure was. But at the same time, yeah. It sure was. Yeah, I wonder if he's like in a dad band right now, how great would that be? That is cool.

1:05:46Sean Hayes:Don't put him in that. He doesn't have to be a dad. Well, but he's a dad. Okay. He's a dad. But that doesn't need to be his identity, man. No, it doesn't need to be his identity. because it'll side gig.

1:05:55Will Arnett:Well, listen, Aubrey, we hit it. We did it. We're two minutes past our time already. I mean, you're amazing. Aubrey, you're such a delightful. Firing on all cylinders. Congratulations on the incredible news. That is awesome. Oh, my God. Really cool. Really, really awesome. Very exciting. Thank you, guys. And the birth of your new show today as well. Good one. Good one. So just, you know, celebrations all around. Yes. Thank you for doing this. Thank you, honey. For birthing this episode today. Fucking too much. Too much? That was too much. We'll turn that later.

1:06:37Sean Hayes:Great to see you again, Aubrey. Plaza, love you so much. Love you too. Just so happy for you. You're the best. You're the best. You're the best. I was looking at you. You take care of yourself. All right. You hear me? We're going to watch Kevin. We're going to watch Kevin on Amazon Prime starting today. I'm logging on right now. Oh, the reviews are in. Meow, says the Meers. Kitty likes to scratch, says the post. It's the perfect show. There we go. Don't ruin it for me. Okay, you're right.

1:07:08Will Arnett:We love it. We love it. We love you. Thank you. Enjoy your day. Bye, honey. All right, goodbye. See you down the road. Bye, Plaza. Bye, yeah. Bye. there she goes Aubrey Plaza there she came there she went yeah yeah yeah what a pleasure what a pleasure yeah she's I love her particular talent and taste and style yeah she's real cool as the kids say she's real cool yeah she's well she just does something that I think a lot of actors are not really comfortable doing which is you know like I don't know believing that they're enough exactly Yeah, and that they're not screaming their performance at you.

1:07:50Sean Hayes:Yeah, I mean, she has so much, I don't know, again, just sort of facility with all of it. It's amazing. And that, honestly, I mean, I've always been a fan and sort of biased, but then last year when I saw that, Emily of the Criminal, it was just, it was like another layer, like another really rich, heavy-duty layer. I was like, wow, this kid, I'm not kidding, that sounds almost, you know, this person is just got it all. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. You know? And then I think about it and then I look at JB and I'm like, what's missing? What's missing? How is he still going? What a mystery. How is he?

1:08:30Will Arnett:Because he's just so... He's an enigma.

1:08:34Sean Hayes:Well, no, it's not your ability. As a talent, you're great. You got so much talent. But as a person, you're like, you got the personality of a Waymo driver. You know what I mean? I know.

1:08:45Will Arnett:I just leave you alone mostly yeah I guess but I'm reliable

1:08:50Sean Hayes:and I'll get you there on time I'll get you there but then it's but it's it's basically nothing right you know what I mean like that's what it's a robot yeah yeah yeah it's a robot but it's not even

1:08:58Will Arnett:like there's nothing like you put your hand in expensive but like not even there so expensive it's just a waste

1:09:07Sean Hayes:that's the other problem you're so you've priced yourself out you know what I mean you have priced yourself about it. Shunny, no, Shunny. Yeah, I have a good vibe. Did you dig something up? Oh, I know you do. Well, I was going to say, what's this hat today? I don't know. There's something in there. What's today's hat? Oh, this is Glombard West. This is my high school.

1:09:25Will Arnett:It's a castle on a hill. Is that something that you purchased? You don't wear a lot of things that you buy. No, they gave this to me. Have you ever thrown out

1:09:34Sean Hayes:a freebie? I know. This is like somebody's production company. Yeah. I know. And I'll bet the sweats are... The sweats are the college I went to. Uh-huh. The sweats are the college. The hats are the high school. And this is somebody's company. I don't know what it is. That is pretty crazy, isn't it? I didn't realize it until now. It's so good.

1:09:59Will Arnett:Well, maybe one of these days you ought to get yourself out to a store and actually buy something. Yeah, there we go.

1:10:07Sean Hayes:Nice. Smart. Nice.

1:10:14Smart Less.

1:10:18Sean Hayes:Smart Less is 100 % organic and artisanally handcrafted by Rob Armjarf, Bennett Barbaco, and Michael Grantary.

1:10:31Sean Hayes:Smart Less. Close your eyes. Focus. Listen to work getting done with Monday.com. Relax, as AI does the manual work, while your teams are aligned on a single source of truth. Feel the sensation of an AI work platform, so flexible and intuitive, it feels like it was built just for you. Notice, you're limitless. Now open your eyes, go to monday.com, start for free, and finally, breathe. You know what's worse than a long wait? Flipping through old magazines in a waiting room. Instead, I power up Chumba Casino. Slots, Blackjack, Solitaire, Roulette, Bingo, and more. Boredom doesn't stand a chance. Take a few virtual laps with me.

1:11:21Let's Chumba. Play now at ChumbaCasino.com.

1:11:24Will Arnett:No purchase necessary. VGW Group Voidware prohibited by law. CT &Cs 21 Plus. Sponsored by Chumba Casino.