"Nicholas Hoult"

22:25Yeah. There's, well, I was lucky. My mom and dad weren't involved in the business, but my older brother and sister, my older brother really loved acting and my older sister did a lot of singing and dancing and was very talented with that as well. So it kind of - And now they hate you. And now they detest me. So that was their hobby. and passion and it kind of, you know, being the third sibling, I kind of just ended up being like, all right, you end up in dance classes or in like shows and whatever, and you kind of just get dragged. So it was kind of like the family hobby in some ways that then through them being skilled, managed to like get lucky and get an agent and then kind of, yeah, keep doing it.

23:04Are they still doing it? Not at the moment, no. My little sister still works in film. She works as an AD, but my brother's a forensic chemist and my older sister teaches dancing. and stuff. So yeah, so there's... Wait, your youngest is an AD? Yeah. That's awesome. That's the hardest job on the set, first AD. That and first AC, I think. Yeah, the base running can be very difficult because you have to, you know, tell people to get out of their trailers a lot. Yeah, exactly. And some people don't want to leave. Sean, do you want to explain the AD department to Tracy or is that too long? Sure. It's assistant director, right?

23:40Yeah. First AD. Hang on. You want to start with clarifying what the acronym is? No, but I meant like, you said first AC. I don't know what AC is. Assistant camera. Focus puller. No, but the first assistant director in their job and then the people who were for the second and the second second, those people are the people who in effect run the skeleton of the film, as it were. They keep the trains running on time. They do all the things. Their jobs are so immense. Yeah, they don't stop from the second they wake up. Couldn't be more important. Yeah. All right. Great. So, about a boy. By a word from our sponsor, do you think?

24:18We just want to leave a little break for the commercial. Now, was About a Boy the first project that you did or was it the first thing that really kind of like launched you into public viewing? Yeah, that was kind of a breakthrough, I guess. I'd been doing a few things before in England, but yeah, that was the one that was like, oh, this feels like we're different. What was your first professional job? First professional job, I think I did a play when I was like three or four, and then I did a film called Intimate Relations when I was five. Explain that one. You know what, I remember the audition for that because it was very easy.

25:00I thought they were like, I will sit under this table and pretend to eat cake. I can do that. I can do that. Sure, good. All right, all right, Sean. That's how Sean does it now because he doesn't want anybody to know he's eating sugar. Yeah, and I'm not even auditioning. Now, what did that, so you're 11 and this thing happens and I imagine it was a fun experience and then it comes out and it's kind of a big hit. And what was the adjustment from being just a kid to like, did your friends start to say, what's going on with you? Yeah, because About a Boy was so huge. Let's get into a bit of a therapy session here now.

25:38Yeah, just lay down if you need to. Yeah, I suppose that was a bit weird because it was, like, I don't know, fairly recognizable for a little bit through it. Yeah. But luckily, it's also, like, one of those things where also, like, you know, it's like kids don't care. They care and then they don't care and everything, like, passes so quickly that it's, like, one of those things where, yeah, whatever. You just get on with life. You're starting to get a bunch of attention at school and some of the boys might not like that, right? They're jealous. You know what? Most people were pretty nice. Most people were pretty nice.

26:09Yeah. Yeah, it was kind of... I'm projecting. But it makes you self-conscious of yourself, I suppose, more than anything else. Of course. Right, right, right. I can't imagine at that age, yeah, feeling like... Because some people are mentioning it and some people are looking at you and then you feel like, is everybody looking? And it would make you very self-conscious. And if you're young, especially in those adolescent years, which are tough enough as it is, it must be quite tricky, really. Yeah, you become, I suppose, even more of a version of just being self-aware in a horrible way, which you probably don't want.

26:46Were you like, this was a fun hobby, a good reason to miss class? Or were you thinking, great, I've got a nice jumpstart on my career? Did you decide this is what I'm going to do the rest of my life at that point? No, because everyone talks about how child actors often fall apart and fail and how it doesn't work out for them. So you're aware of that conversation. so you're kind of like, oh, you know, there's a good chance. Keeping your options open. So I would say, in the back of my mind, I was like, oh, I like this. I'd like to carry on doing this. But also I was kind of reserved about it a little bit where I was like, there's a good chance it doesn't work out.

27:16So don't like... Well, Jason, you're not unfamiliar with the sensation? Yeah. So did you, like me, when it came time to finish high school and now it's like the decision about going on and going into college and actually studying up on an industry or an occupation, what was that decision like? You had some momentum going at that moment? Did you make a decision like, screw it, I'm all in? At that moment, I was lucky. I did a TV show in England called Skins. We did the first series and then found out that the second series was going to happen. That was one of those things where it was around the time I started my A-levels, which is when you're 17, 18 in school.

27:57I realized I was kind of like half focusing on school and half focusing on work. I wasn't really fully into either. I was like, you know what, I'm just going to commit. give the acting a try and see how it goes and if I need I can come back to school. And you thought maybe I'd give it three, four years something like that it's a real roll of the dice because you'd have to go back into college and yeah it's stressful. Yeah and there wasn't anything that I was particularly good at either. What do you think you would have done if you had to do something different? I really have no idea because I'm not good at anything.

28:29I say the same thing, I'm not joking I always say I'm not good at anything. What would you have liked to have done if you couldn't have acted? oh, just be a race car driver. For real? Or a rock star. F1? Or a writer or something. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I enjoy watching F1, yeah. Yeah. But I don't know. I didn't really have a backup. But I think the one thing that I like, the eclectic mix of acting allows you to kind of be a jack of all trades. Yeah, yeah. I don't think I excel at anything particularly, but I can kind of dabble a little bit in lots of things. You get to do everything, which you certainly have done.

29:03I mean, the variants of projects that you do and filmmakers that you work with, I mean, it's... Yeah, a lot of people chase fame, and other people chase the work. And I feel it. No, no, just say it again, because I've got a blank T-shirt I was looking at, Phil.

29:28You always seem like you chase the work, and you're not interested in any of the flash. Sean, what would you have done if you hadn't done this? What, this podcast? No. I'm with you guys. I don't know how to do anything else. Were you drawn to anything, like college age? I thought I was going to be a conductor, and I thought I was going to compose film scores. That's right. JB, what about you? What would you do if you could? The same thing you asked Nick. What would you do if you could? I wanted to be an architect. I wanted to design residential homes. oh wow you have to draw really well I can't really draw really I just like architecture I would have gone into that I would have had to have a partner that knew the math but any answer that you play out like architecture or whatever then you go god I have to go to school there's so much work involved where acting feels like you're playing like you're lucky but the trade off with that is that you've got no you've got no guarantee of employment I know I would have been a bartender at a club med just asking for beads just fuck it just flip flops all the time light and cigarettes whatevs just ride it out we'll be right back

30:49and back to the show but seriously Nick how are you picking your jobs it seems like you're looking at kind of who's in it Who's directing it? What's the quality of it as opposed to what's the star-making potential of it? No, no, no. I'm chasing fame and money. No, you're not. Like a rabid animal, but I just can't achieve it. I'll bet you get a bunch of that low-hanging fruit pass right underneath your nose, and you've been very disciplined. Yeah. I try to be. It's one of those where, yeah, I feel like I just want to do good work and have like, when I'm sitting in my rocking chair in 50 years' time, looking back I'm like oh yeah you like you tried to really create special things each time you were are there any are there any roles without naming names are there any roles that you turned down that you went like I wish I had done it you ever have you know what I think for the first time there was maybe one where the person got nominated for an Oscar and I was like ugh now did they play the part the way that you would have oh much better much better that's always the thing whenever there's a role that you don't get or someone else does or whatever there's always a thing where you watch it and you're like, oh yeah, I see it's different and it's very classy that you're not mentioning what that is too I think some actors that they mention and then the person that feels like shit is the person who actually did the part because it's like, oh, so I was second and I was back on it but there's always that there's always a list like the turnover of projects I'm sure you guys see it all the time it's like, oh, this script's been around for a minute it was this person for a while and it's this person I'm just finishing up one of those.

32:30Pedro Pascal was set to do the Bard on Plane. Anyway. He would have been great. I know, right? No, I'm sorry. I'm just imagining him. He would have been good. Now, what about doing X-Men, again, Scotty just grabbed the ceiling. That was... Yeah, he loved that. So doing X-Men or like Mad Max or Superman, man, like you are sneaking in some big commercial films as well. That work process on that is, you're only doing like a half a page a day and it's, right, the apparatus is just huge. Do you like doing that or do you prefer doing the smaller films where you're really chugging along and you got to do a bunch of pages a day and it's a lot of, it's more acting than it is sort of stunts and effects and things like that.

33:26It's different. I really enjoy the stunt process of those things. But for those bigger ones like that, it's more of like an experience. I can clearly remember some of the days on Mad Max where we'd be in the Namibian desert and they'd give the signal for everyone to start up their engines and you'd hear all these V8s and V12s and all these engines start up around you and then you couldn't hear anything else apart from the thunder of that taken up across the desert. Wow, in terms of life experiences, that doesn't get any more exciting than that. The hairs on my arms would stand up each time. But then also, yeah, it's fun to then go and do it.

33:59And I'm immediately thinking about all the dust and how far base camp is from set. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right, right. What kind of... Keep your eye on the prize. Umbrella near my chair because it's probably just really hot. It is, though. But to Jason's question, the comfort level of doing like an indie, like a super small budget compared to when you're used to doing bigger films like that, you have to adjust your expectations about how the day's going to go in terms of comfort, right? It's not cushy on the indies, right? It's not. Yeah, it's bad. It's bad on the indies. Boy, not a question in there.

34:37No. Two hosts and not one question. Now, how do you like the whole press part of it? Like doing crap like this because when you do those bigger films and Superman's certainly coming up. Yeah, I was just thinking about you saying July 11th. You know the date, obviously. It's something you worked on, but it's like this is the lead. I mean, you've got a long road ahead of you, not to make it too daunting. I'm sorry. But you know that. Yeah, those films. Yeah, so listeners, so you do these big films. They make you fly around. Not make you. I don't mean to sound like we're complaining, but you do. It is very robust, the whole thing.

35:15All the chat and giggle stuff you got to do. Yeah. How do you like doing that? You know what? I've tried to flip my thinking on it in the last year or a bit or something. So where I was like, I used to kind of not dread it. There was part of me that was like, oh, it's quite fun. But I guess that slight introvert part of me was like, I don't know about, you know. And then I realized I've got to perform and play the game better of what it is. Do you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. You are ultimately a salesman at that point. And I think somebody said to me a long time, they don't pay you to do the movie.

35:44They pay you to promote it. Right, right, right. And so when you look at it that way, you go like, okay, this is a big part of the job right now. Yeah, so I've got to be a past salesman. Yeah. Well, but as you said it, and I've been accused of this as well, and I think they're right, of being an introvert. I don't, this is not comfortable for me. I don't want to say that. You're not an introvert. You're boring. Like, you know what I mean? And I think there's a distinction there. Do you know what I mean? That's what my favorite is. I'm like, I'm boring. I just want to stay at home. I want to go and do my acting.

36:15I hope people like it. And then like, that's kind of it. But it is effortful. It is effortful. Yeah. But yeah, there's a certain ham gene, a healthy ham gene that I don't have. Well, you feel like you're bragging is part of the problem, right? That and also just like demanding attention. Even just, and I've talked about it before, making a toast. I just cringe myself out standing up and demanding attention. Well, you know what? I was thinking about you and doing the toast and stuff. And we had our friend's birthday recently a month ago. and you guys went and I kind of go because of work. And I was thinking about the toast and I remember I wrote that toast for, I still wrote it to have, and Bradley delivered it while, even though I didn't go.

36:58Yeah, it was hilarious. We haven't even talked about that, right? In the toast that made Bradley go, he does this whole thing, it was for Robert's birthday for Downey and then I said, and Jason Bateman, I said, Jason, would you please stand up? So Bradley's reading and he says, Jason, would you please stand up? Jason stands up and then Bradley reads, look at this, look at this monkey. I can make him do anything I want. I'm not even here. Anyway, but the... The roof died. It was very bad. But here's the flip, JB, which is, and it kind of goes along the lines of you're being paid to do it, is making a toast is it's not about you.

37:32Think about it. It's about, it's for the other person. So you're making it about you and it shouldn't be. You're doing it. So I don't necessarily want to go and do it. And I don't want to make a speech of somebody's birthday, even though it seems like I do or I want the attention. you're doing it for that person because they want it. And if you look at it through that lens, it's much easier. That's a good point. Yeah, there was like a really interesting thing I was reading the other way and I'm butchering it completely, but what you said there was like being introverted is like a self-centered thing in many ways and when you're kind of bold in an interaction instantly, it puts the other person at ease.

38:04Yeah. And I've got friends who I see do it all the time and they'll meet someone for the first time and they'll instantly like break the ice so brilliantly and do these things where you're like, oh, wow, you can just see how. Well, because it's the work for, Somebody told me a long time ago, you're not allowed to be shy after nine years old. Right. Because that just means you just don't want to do the work. And I will say this. I'm not saying that, JB, that you're not a kinder, and I don't think that you're self-centered. I think that it's much more, you look at a guy like Kimmel. Kimmel goes out of his way and he does stuff and he hosts stuff and he gives toast and he does it, I mean, endlessly.

38:35It's work. Endlessly. And he does it because he's very open-hearted about it and he understands that it's important to the other person to do it. Yeah, yeah. Right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. If I think about it that way, I would do it much more. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're right. You're right. That feels good. 56. That's why I've got your eulogy written right here. It's ready? I just finished it today. Well, I talked to your doctor. You're ready to go. I talked to, hey, side zoom after this. Is that cool? Just to go over it. All right. I'd like to go back to Lex Luthor because this is a major movie that's coming out.

39:07I know, I know. I love Superman. Did you have a voice for him or is it your regular voice or did you completely? I'm doing an American accent. I did a voice, yeah. Okay, good. I love that. I worked with an opera coach a little bit on that. Oh, really? Which sounds like then the voice is going to be so different, but I was just trying to place the voice differently to where my voice is. Yeah, yeah, I get it. That's cool. I love that. Like sort of like the top of your head type thing or something like that, you mean? I'm trying to get it more from my stomach, I suppose, and all that, because sometimes, particularly when you're then doing an accent, it becomes, because you're trying to change everything in your mouth and throat in terms of how you're saying the sounds, it can become placed there a little bit differently and stuff.

39:46Oh, wow. How do you like doing the American accent? Is it easy to you? Yeah, I was going to just ask that. I wouldn't say it's easy because then when I do a bad one, everyone will be like, hmm, not that easy. Is it comfortable? How about that? It gets comfortable. That's the aim whenever you, like I'm just starting to work on this new accent for this new thing and it's kind of, it's an American accent, but it's different to what I've done before. So then instantly it becomes like, Like, at the moment, it still sounds alien in my head, you know? It's like, and then hopefully with enough repetition, by the time we get to shooting, it'll feel like something that I can be like, okay.

40:20Now, are you just working on the material that you've got to work on for the film? Are you trying to inhabit it sort of in the day-to-day when you're doing the dishes, et cetera, or playing with the kids, trying to get those American cadences, et cetera? Uh-oh. Oh. Nice work, Will. Did I froze him out? Yeah. You froze him out. Let's take a quick little look-see here. Can you guys hit me? Yes. There you go. Now we can, yes. Sorry. I don't know what happened. Here comes NVIDIA. Hold on. I'm sweating now. Now you're sweating. Yeah, see, that's what happened. Here we go. This is going to be, Nick, this is going to be seamless.

40:57My question was, do you do the accent all day? Like around kids and stuff? Or do you just do it for the material that you're working on? Or do you try to do it, incorporate it into your day-to-day and like when you're doing the dishes and playing with the kids? I don't do it at home but I'll do it it depends on how long I'm doing the character but yeah I'll normally perhaps stay in it throughout the day in the morning warm up and get into it and then try and stay in it and then at the end of the day I'll go home and I won't talk in it Do you ever do it around your kids and your kids are like Dad, I don't understand you Occasionally I'll be like because I sometimes record

41:41Hey, Will, have you played golf since you've been done with the movie? I went to the range yesterday. Boy, I figured something out. Oh, did you? And we have Nick with us here. Check, check. Here we go. He's back. Nick Holt? Yes. There he is. Nick, do you play the golf? Do you play golf at all? I do play the golf. Not very well. Because we were talking about golf during the intermission there. So you're no... Do you all play? We do. Sean does not. Sean can drive the hell out of the car. Jason and I play. Sean did come to a golf tournament with us once, but he did not play. You're not good because you don't play that much because you're working all the time, yes?

42:20Yeah, I'm not consistent enough. Like, when I'm on one, it's... All right, looks like we lost him again. Please stand by. by the way you know there are certain names right that have a cachet that have a thing yeah Nick Holt Nicholas Holt sounds like a star name that's a star name sure it is you know what I mean you know let me can I run one by you that I don't think is it's just it's impossible he's gonna say my name Will Arnett yeah is just something that's just it's sort of like oh well that's fine I know that's fine you know Sean Hayes that's kind of boring it's like oh it's kind of foggy I can't really see through it you know it's easy you can't make anything out of it Sean Hayes Sean Hayes sounds like your sister's friend you know who's like a graphic designer you know who I saw at the mall I saw Sean Hayes fucking Sean Hayes oh yeah I remember him from high school that's it he sounds like somebody like your sister's friend from high school and now you're 50 and you're like oh yeah I thought that guy died yeah sadly that's true there we are Nick Holt Nick Holt Nick Holt is back oh he's not back And more frozen than ever.

43:30Yeah. Robbie, is he trying to join back in? No, I just heard from him, and I think there's something going on with his laptop. Well, listen, we lost Nicholas Holt. We have got a real spotty connection there. But you want to know what? A guy that busy, we're thankful to get even the amount of time that we had. I agree. And this guy is a talent and a charmer. Yeah. And again, the hair did not disappoint. The jawline did not disappoint. No, no, no. Good looking guy. Good looking guy. Very well spoken. Super talented. He's got it all. He's got the superstar name. Yeah. Focused. Like you said, Jay, picks the right projects with the right people.

44:09Yeah, and I'm glad we didn't exhaust him because he's got a lot of talking to do in the coming months. Everyone's going to go out and see Superman. Yeah, we're going to see Superman. When was the date? Was it July 11th, did he say? July 11th, yeah. Will anyone beat Scotty to the theater? For Superman? Yeah. No. I'm not even kidding. He's probably already bought his tickets. Not even joking. He brought something up on his phone last night, Willie. Oh, yeah. I'm over his shoulder. And right there, his screensaver on his iPhone is just the Superman badge. You know, the chest badge. That's his screensaver.

44:39I know. He's a big nerd. He's a big, fat nerd. Not fat, but he's a nerd. That's a funny. That's a great. Nerd is a great way to put it. Yeah. It's not the word I'd use. You know what I mean? Mine starts with an L. Yeah. Big L. remember when people were just remember because nerds all of a sudden sort of appropriated the word losers appropriated the word nerd because they thought like it made them sound better and they're just losers well I'm gonna write this down and make sure Scotty knows no I'm kidding I love Scotty where does dork live in that list is that more pejorative yeah I'm a loser too I'm like a hardcore fan who's bummed out about a sports game last night like that doesn't exactly make me a fucking winner yeah No, but you know what I was going to say?

45:24How good-looking Nick Holt is. And I said to Will the other day. Back off the mic a little bit. I said, if you're attracted. Look at the tee up. Look at the tee up. If you're attracted to, uh-huh. If you're attracted to both men and women, but neither are attracted to you, you are by yourself. Oh, nice. Bye. Bye. I like that. We'll accept that. Bye. Smart. Less.

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