"Nick Jonas"

9:38Will Arnett:Yeah. Regular dessert. It was a...

9:40Sean Hayes:Dessert was at 6.15, by the way. Okay, keep going.

9:43Will Arnett:And it was elegantly laid out on a plate with proper ratios of graham crackers, chocolate, and mushrooms. Not mushrooms, sorry. Marshmallows. There on the plate, very dignified. like this is your s'mores kit that the chef laid out for you? No, I did it myself. I was all alone. Scotty was out of town. I was all alone. That was just for you? That was just for me, yeah. And I had four in a row. But wait, this is the hack. This is the s'mores hack. Oh, yeah, tell us. I take the chocolate and I microwave it so it's more like a sauce. And then I pour the sauce onto the marshmallow. Oh, man. You figured it out, motherfucker.

10:23Yeah, so it's not like you're just biting into a chocolate bar.

10:26Sean Hayes:Sean, why don't you just stuff it all in your mouth and then hop in a sauna and just let it know it's in your mouth? Okay? By the way, that's not a bad idea. All right. What are you doing? I'm making s'mores.

10:45Will Arnett:Most people go in there to lose some weight. Sean goes in there to really dive into the sweets. Or to reheat any sort of food. He'll just walk in there with his plate.

10:58Sean Hayes:Fucking hell, man. Ding dong. Unbelievable. Why waste the wattage? Well, you were doing that. I'll say this. Our guest, Sean, you're going to like this. He started performing on Broadway at the age of seven. Really funny. Okay. Seven years old, starting on Broadway, and has continued on, on and off on Broadway, amongst the other amazing things he's done, which have been, had multiple number one albums, chart-topping singles in a group. A fella. And also with a solo career. Hugh Jackman. And incredible acting credits across film, TV, big studio movies, prestige TV, then returned to Broadway, been nominated for Golden Globes, headline Global Tours, coached on The Voice, okay?

11:40Sean Hayes:And built a career that goes, that went from teen idol to serious actor and legitimate musician all the way through, which is not easy to do. It's Howie Mandel. Okay. Bring him out. his new record came out February 6th, Sunday Best marking his first solo project in nearly five years. Please welcome to the show Nick Jonas, you guys.

12:01Will Arnett:Nick Jonas! Come on! You look nothing like Howie Mandel. Or Hugh Jackman. Well, give it time. Hello, Nick. Good to see you guys. This feels overdue. What an intro. That was great. Yeah. Nick, I just saw you. It's so insane. I saw you at the Golden Globes. I know. That was so lovely. We were backstage at the holding room for the presenters. My wife was presenting you guys. It's not a big room. It's not a big room. That's one of the bleakest, most depressing rooms in Hollywood. Yeah. Yeah. Everybody just walked in and out. It's way too small. The ceiling's low. I did enjoy listening to you guys rehearse, though.

12:44It was the master class in bit rehearsal. Well, us idiots. And you guys crushed the bit. It went viral after. It was great. Thank you.

12:52Will Arnett:Did we honestly rehearse? You don't remember that? There's a little side room. No. At the monitor. You ran it back like six times. It was great. We did? Yeah. Yeah, back six. Just for timing. Just for timing. It was nothing like, just for timing. Just for timing. You got to do that.

13:05Sean Hayes:Get familiar with the piece. Didn't you think that Jason should have spoken up? He was a little soft on that one line.

13:10Will Arnett:If we were still rolling, I'd go back and raise the volume a little bit.

13:13Sean Hayes:Yeah. Because you were turned away. The attitude was great and the performance was great. Thank you. We just needed to hear it better.

13:19Will Arnett:Oh, cheers, man.

13:20Sean Hayes:The people loved it.

13:21Will Arnett:It was great. I loved it. Cheers. Nick. Thanks for having me, guys. Yes. Welcome to the pod.

13:29Sean Hayes:Dude, it is so overdue. It's so overdue that you're here. And like I said in the intro, as you go back and you look at all the stuff you've done from such a young age and how much incredible success you've not just had but continue to have. It's remarkable, man. It's so singularly, like that is so tough to do. And it's really a tribute to your talent. It's unbelievable. It's just that you've always, at everything you've done, you've excelled and you've managed to sort of keep it, you know, you've done top rated stuff. And I wonder if for you, starting young like that, did you feel pressure? Like, I got to keep Did you ever feel that pressure starting so young?

14:17I think to a certain degree, yeah. I started, as you mentioned before, on Broadway as a kid. Was lucky enough to do a few shows. And then it was actually a family friend that heard a song. Oh, does it sound bad?

14:32Will Arnett:No, no, family friend. Those stories never really go well. I'm on set right now and there's trucks behind me. This one does go well. Family friend. He also happened to be our chiropractor. He was like, oh, guys, we're going to take a short break. He told my dad, he's like, look, you know, I know Nick recorded this song. I'd love to play it for this guy who works at Sony Music Group. Did he ask you to just relax?

15:05Thankfully not. But, you know, started recording, and then we got signed as a trio, me and the brothers. And I think because we had sort of early in our career had a big failure. Our first album did not do well. We got dropped by our first label. Oh, God. It took us finding a home with Disney and our partners there to kind of really step into the next phase. And I think that resilience came from that early perceived failure. Right, right, right.

15:37Sean Hayes:Well, that's, yeah. I mean, did you have, am I right about this? First of all, I read somewhere that, and you tell me if it's true, that you were first discovered by a talent manager or pushed towards one when you were at a barber shop, getting a haircut or something. I was at a hair salon with my mom, yeah. I was six, and I was always singing before I was even talking. And she was getting her hair done. I grew up in Jersey, and so we're known for our hair salons, diners, bowling alleys. Sure, sure. Shopping all. And yeah, so she was getting her hair done. I was singing, the woman next to her said, hey, my son is Gavroche on Broadway.

16:14I think your son could do it. You should go see this talent manager. So we went in to go see Shirley Grant. Was it Gaten Moderato by any chance? Didn't he play Gavroche on Broadway? No, he played Gavroche later than I did, I think. I did it in the early 2000s. But basically went into this talent manager's office. Her name's Shirley Grant. Rest in peace, Shirley. She's got her walls lined with, like, you know, headshots of little actor kids, weird actor kids who look you in the eye and shake your hand really intense. He's looking at you, JB. He is. He's looking at you.

16:49Sean Hayes:Did you notice that? He's looking at you. And she started sending me on auditions, and that was kind of the start to my run doing shows. That's so nuts. Wait, so you played Gavrosh? I played Gavrosh. Who's Gavrosh?

17:04Will Arnett:I'm embarrassed to say I don't know. He's the kid that basically is the kind of narrator for the second chapter of the story, basically when Valjean... Have you seen Les Mis? Of Les Mis. Of Les Mis. Oh, oh, oh. I don't know if I have... He's the only kid in the whole... Spoiler alert, he gets shot in the head and he gets killed. And as a child actor, it's a dream role. You get to do the old snap of the head back and die. It's epic. I also played... Wait, wait, wait.

17:33Sean Hayes:Wait, wait, wait, full sidebar pause. Have either, you have, you've just admitted, have you guys ever been shot in a production, in a show or anything that you've had to get shot?

17:43Will Arnett:No. Yeah, I think I've bored you guys with my Little House on the Prairie story of getting shot, first time I've ever got shot. No, no, no, I've never heard it. I was, what was I, 10, 10 or 11, something like that. God, they're shooting a lot of kids in these productions.

17:58Sean Hayes:Okay, keep going.

18:00Will Arnett:Jesus Christ. First big gig. I, I, uh, I'm playing this, this kid, uh, uh, me and my older brother, we walk into a, to a bank, uh, there in the little Western town and it's in the middle of getting robbed, but we don't know that. We walk in, ding, ding, the door chime goes and, uh, the bank robbers turn around and see these two little kids and he fires and hits me right in the chest or the leg or whatever the hell it is. Um, we shoot the rehearsal, Michael Landon's directing this episode we shoot the rehearsal so um so i get shot and i throw myself against the wall i slide down the wall and when i get to the floor i start shaking and quivering like one does because you know all you can see is in the movies and a tv and then i i slowly expire and and all i hear is total silence my eyes are closed on the floor and and i just hear michael landing go okay we're gonna cut and he walks slowly over to me i still have my eyes closed i'm still in him so day and he whispers in my ear okay we're gonna do another one this time i'm gonna want you to just collapse on the floor i want you to just slowly just collapse and quietly expire here we go everybody back i was so mortified and embarrassed i mean i was just you know vibrating and and throwing myself sure and terrible oh god bless you jb that's good so so so you do so you were gonna say after gap you said after gabrosh you played oh yeah so i did my first show i did a christmas carol which is kind of a seasonal show so technically not a broadway show but annie get your gun was my first show with reba mcatar i did it with frank langella Actually, it was pretty incredible.

19:47He played Scrooge. I was, actual character name, Scrooge at eight. And I was the understudy for Tiny Tim. And in the eight years that this show had run, they'd never had a Tiny Tim cover have to go on. So they just didn't bother rehearse the Tiny Tim covers. And the year I did it, again, my dad gets a call and they say, hey, Nick's going to go on for Tiny Tim today. we got to get you here an hour before the show to do a put-in. So I rush over to the theater and basically run the five scenes that Tiny Tim has in the two songs. And, you know, thrown out there for the opening kind of song and literally my mind goes blank.

20:3316 bars of just silence as the music's playing. There's really intimidating conductors there looking me in the eye. And it was a good entryway into live theater. You know, shit happens, you just go roll with it. But as an eight-year-old, I was pretty mortified.

20:47Will Arnett:Scrooge at eight would be a good title for autobiography if you ever decided to write one. I'm going to write that down, actually. That's a good idea. Wait, did that instill a fear in you about performing going forward? Well, a conductor came up to me after, and I was expecting him to sort of scold me or something like a teacher would. But instead, he came down to my level and he said, things happen. You just got to keep going next time.

21:14Sean Hayes:He said, we're just going to drop to the floor. Yeah. We're just going to collapse. We're just going to collapse. We're about to reset and we'll heal. And expire. And yet you're just going to collapse and expire. Actually, I wonder if, hearing you say that and Sean, your question, I wonder if it had the opposite effect of having that. You kind of mentioned like your first record wasn't the hit that you, it didn't go well, that you had that experience at eight on Broadway. In a lot of ways, it probably galvanizes you. Because if you can kind of get through that at such a young age. Yeah, yeah. Right?

21:48Sean Hayes:In a lot of ways, you kind of go like, well, fuck, I've done that already. Like, you know, otherwise you're waiting for that moment your whole life. Like, when is going to be the time that I'm going to completely bottle it in the moment, you know? Yeah, and I've had a few of those too later on. Sure, sure. moments that certainly didn't go the way I hoped. But yeah, I do think that those early experiences helped kind of create a foundation that led to me not losing it.

22:15Will Arnett:Yeah. What about the things that went way better than you thought they were going to go at an early age? Like, for instance, you know, like the incredible fandom of like all of these like girls screaming at you, even at an age where you might like, you're just starting to like, get all crazy about girls. And like, has, is that sort of thing of now that you're, you're an adult and you have, you've, you've managed to weather the transition between sort of like teen idol into, into an adult, you know, a professional actor, performer, et cetera. You know, how, how does all that stuff kind of transition for you in your, in your head about, about how much of it is real, how much of it is just part of the job, or what do you do with all that sort of like that ego surplus?

23:09Will Arnett:Because it's all kind of junk food to a certain extent, and you've got to figure out where to place it all, right, I guess? Yeah, it's a great question. I mean, I always think it's funny when people frame an answer this way, so forgive me for doing it. But I think one of the biggest misconceptions about us, and odd to acknowledge your own perceived misconception. Sure. but it was that because we worked with Disney and the core of our demo was primarily teens, that there's no way this music came from an honest source or that it came from us even. Right, right, right. And it was a really bizarre thing to sort of be in a spot where at 13, 14 years old, I was experiencing all the things you're talking about, first love, first heartbreak, Like real big, you know, human emotions that I was able to put into song in a way that spoke directly to that audience.

24:06And when you ask about like what's something I thought went incredibly right, it would be that. The fact that our dad raised us on this great bed of classics. We discovered our own kind of sound and found our own voice creatively. And I had this outlet that both helps me process these big feelings, but also connected in a way that, frankly, now, you know, we play these songs 20 years later. As men and dads and husbands in our 30s, it's even more resonant with the audience because they've grown with us. And tracking that over time has just been the most fascinating thing and pretty special, to be honest.

24:49And we will be right back.

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26:09Sean Hayes:Okay, so something new from Pepsi just hit the shelves. It's Pepsi Prebiotic Cola. It's got that great Pepsi taste and comes in two flavors, original cola and cherry vanilla. And it is delicious. It has no artificial sweeteners. Plus, it delivers three grams of prebiotic fiber, five grams of sugar, all at just 30 calories. It honestly tastes like Pepsi with just so much more to love. I don't know. To me, it seems like perfect for an afternoon pick-me-up or a movie night drink maybe or something to sip while you listen to a podcast maybe. So, I mean, from where I'm sitting, it's the same great Pepsi just with a different spin.

26:57Sean Hayes:I'm excited about it, and I hope you are too. You know what? Let's make it a date. Let's try Pepsi Prebiotic Cola together.

27:11And now, back to the show.

27:14Sean Hayes:You mentioned that in your dad raising on those classics and musically. So what was that? Who is the person? Did they discover that you had a talent for music that kind of came from you or your parents? Were they musical in that way? Was that something that came from them? Yeah, our dad is a really gifted musician. He's a pianist, a vocalist, and he was actually a pastor when we first started. We lived in Dallas for a bit where I was born. And then we moved to Jersey and he became a senior pastor at this church there. And music was always a part of our life. And I think my latest album, Sunday Best, came out in February.

28:01It really kind of musically speaking, not so much lyrically, but musically touches on some of those early musical roots in the church. But the thing is that he also really educated us on everything else. The Bee Gees, the Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Carole King, all the greats. and we had a real sort of deep dive musical education by way of those hour-long drives from our house in Wyckoff, New Jersey to the city to go perform in shows there. Eventually, we left the church or were sort of pushed out because our music wasn't Christian music, right? So some of the people in leadership there were upset about that and thought that we were sinning.

28:43Sure. We took a different path. Now he's looking at you, Sean.

28:48Sean Hayes:He was looking at you. Yeah, no, I got it. Sean, you want to talk about the time that you wake off in New Jersey? Okay, so listen. Listen. To start, yeah. But that's, so you had all this music and then you start acting and you have consistently gone back and seamlessly back and forth between the two and sometimes the marriage of the two in musical, like on Broadway. and then doing serious acting roles and doing all that stuff. And is there one, I mean, you don't have a lane. You're occupying multiple lanes at the same time. And how do you approach it? Do you have like an approach like, well, now this year I want to spend more time making music or does it just kind of flow?

29:35It just kind of flows. And as, of course, you all know, the lead time for a film or TV project is so much longer than the turnaround time we can have in music. I could record a song this afternoon and then if I wanted to, put it out this evening. But there's so many people that have to weigh into how something gets made on the film and TV side, which is something that is sort of new for me on the development side of things. And I always love hearing you guys talk about your process with development and kind of what that's been like because the last, I'd say, six years, kind of during and post-COVID, outside of touring and music and all that, that's been a really exciting thing is to sort of do my best to forge a path where I am a little bit more in the driver's seat than I've been in the past.

30:26Been really fortunate to be a part of some great projects, but when you can start to develop things that you feel like are the right next steps for you and you're more in a sort of position to make decisions, it's a really empowering thing.

30:37Will Arnett:How are you finding your, like, Like just to sort of follow up further on Will's question there, like what do you find is drawing you more towards acting at times and what's putting you more in a music mood? Is it, you know, is it... Money? Yeah, well, I mean, right, there are certain... Like I guess the question behind it all is what is the difference and creative fulfillment that you find between acting and music? You know, what's touching you, you know, in your most core place versus some other place? I don't know. Yeah, I think that honestly becoming a father, we have a four-year-old, that really changed everything for me as a creative, both on the music side and as an actor.

31:36And I've always loved acting and I've kind of bounced between, you know, things like, you know, Jumanji, for instance, which is very big and fun and exciting and incredible cast. And then smaller things, you know, the one million dollar movie, right? The thing that you just kind of grind. And I love both and think that it's amazing to kind of have that range. And on the music side, the driver is the fans, truly. And I'm not just saying that. It's bizarre to get to do anything for as long as we've now been fortunate enough to do. Especially with the way it kind of began. And there is a reality to the fact that teen fans or that sort of heartthrob label can be a challenging thing to step out of.

32:37And I think our daughter and the experience that I'm having with her have me way more connected to the words I'm saying, no matter what they are and kind of my worldview and everything else. So I can't really say one thing is more inspiring or exciting, but actually looking at the world through her eyes, in a sense, gives me just a better perspective and a deeper, you know, sort of angle on what I want to be doing.

33:03Sean Hayes:Well, and you've also had the, you know, part of your experience has been, a big part of it, on and off, has been continuing to work with family, right? To work with your brothers on and off. I mean, that's also very unique. And in addition to your solo work as a musician, and then your solo work, if you will, as an actor going from project to project, one of the through lines has been what you've created with your brothers. and I wonder is that something that you like is that something that feels good as a sort of a steady thing that's always there that you can kind of lean on that idea of that family and you guys doing that stuff together what's that experience like?

33:51Yeah it's incredible to get to do anything with the people you love and to share in those experiences and we also had a moment where it wasn't good You know, we've had that chapter of the journey too where we had to basically say, let's not do the music together anymore or work together so that the family at the table can still all be there and love each other. And, you know, I think it took us sort of going through that season and coming out the other side in a healthy way.

34:28Will Arnett:Yeah, because you guys went through the period in everyone's life of change that happens between the ages of 15 and 20 is massive. And you guys were just tied at the hip during those years, yes? Yeah, absolutely. It was both good and bad. There are times I look up and I look at folks who went through similar experiences to us who were on sort of a solo journey and didn't have that built-in support system. Because we would check each other too, which was important to the dynamic and also be a shoulder to lean on when there was tough times and frustrating situations to navigate. Yeah, I mean, you want to change so much, right?

35:20Will Arnett:During those years, you kind of like you try on these little outfits. I mean, Willie, we're seeing it with our kids, right? During those ages, like, you're kind of like, you're kind of flexing a little bit and seeing like, kind of like what kind of young adult you want to become. And if you've constantly got a sibling there, that's why siblings fight so much. It's like, you're always calling each other bullshit, you know, and like, oh, just stop with the face or with, oh, nice outfit or what's going on with your hair, you know?

35:44Sean Hayes:I was thinking about this with us, like as you were saying it, and obviously it's very different, but the three of us, Nick, in this way have... You're like brothers. Yeah, we've been friends for a long time.

35:56Will Arnett:But we're settled into who we're going to be. Yes, but at the same time,

35:59Sean Hayes:we check each other all the time. I FaceTimed with both of you yesterday. Yeah. I was going to do this thing on Thursday and Jason's like, you got to play golf with me. I'm leaving. I'm going to New York. You have to move that thing because I'm leaving and I'm not going to be able to play for a while. I was like, okay. And I called the guy I was going to do with. I go, I have to go because Jason's leaving and I have to play golf with him the day before he leaves. and he goes, I think it's so sweet that you guys still want to hang out with each other and that hadn't even occurred to me. But I get it.

36:27Sean Hayes:You guys are my constant in that way. You're my thing. We come back and get to do this together in that same way. So I can kind of relate to that. It's different. Again, I'm not...

36:38Will Arnett:And you also, you guys are probably as fiercely protective as we are about maintaining the harmony because it does take some diligence. We don't talk to each other about the effort I made to avoid a conflict with you. No, you've got to take care of that shit internally and make sure that you're being the right partner to keeping everything. Like any family. Yeah, like any family, any relationship, you've got to do your part. Yeah, and you've got to also talk a decent amount of shit to the people you love. You have to. Which you guys have in spades. Yeah. Wait, Nick, is there anything, as far as your music goes, I was thinking about this when Will was kind of touching on this too, and you were speaking about it.

37:21Is there anything, how do you determine of your personal life what to share in a public forum through art? You know what I mean? Yeah, it's a good question. There are things that I... Even a stop clock tells the right time.

37:38Will Arnett:Yeah, no, he's got nominations to back it up. Yeah, he sure does. Interviewer of the year. Yeah, I don't think, did he win? He did not win. Did not win. He did not win that.

37:50Sean Hayes:No, he did not win.

37:52Will Arnett:He didn't win until it got to the co-host version of the nomination.

37:57Sean Hayes:Right. We won. Yeah. Congrats. There are things that I feel, you know, are probably better to just keep private, you know, or find a different way to say it. But I have lived a lot of my life, you know, in the public eye. Right. And so it would be odd to not acknowledge some of the things that are already known about me.

38:23Will Arnett:Right. So you write these lyrics. You know that you, I mean, a writer only writes what a writer knows. So I'm assuming that your feelings, your emotions, your stories come from your life experience. And then oftentimes you want to sort of explore this through a song, but you're afraid the public might sniff out who that person might be. So you kind of change a name, maybe even change a gender, change who you are, change the, like, or make it a metaphor, right? Like, all of a sudden, it's about two dogs in a park or whatever. Right.

38:56Sean Hayes:What an imagination of this guy. Yeah, thank you, man.

38:59Will Arnett:So is there a little bit of, like, a concoction going there sometimes when you're writing out lyrics? There is, yeah. And, you know. Are you ever a puppy? Oh, my God, dude. Enough with the dogs in the park. Or a puppy or a kitty. That's actually what the entire next album is about. Fucking Nick, please write a song about two dogs in a park.

39:23Sean Hayes:I honestly got it. Yeah, I'm going to figure it out. There's got to be a way. And then look over there. I'll turn it to you first. You can premiere it on the pod. Yeah, but truly, yeah, it must be hard to decide how to do that. Yeah, I mean, I think that it's always fun to think of a different way to say a thing and to throw a metaphor in there. But also to just say the truth is so empowering.

39:52Will Arnett:Instead of like they're just sniffing each other, they actually take each other out on a date. Oh my God.

39:56Sean Hayes:Oh my God. The song's writing itself right now. Fuck, this is never going away. Yeah, I mean, have you ever had, well then conversely, Have you ever written a song and then had questions about it or felt like people misinterpreted it? Like they think that it's about something. You're like, oh, no, it's not about that. That has happened a few times. And then the other thing that happens is that, you know, in the year 2026, there's only so many notes left. There's only so many songs. When we first started putting music out in the early 2000s, on any given Friday release day, there would be anywhere from 30 to 50 new releases.

40:43There are now thousands, three to 5 ,000 somewhere in there releases. Oh my God. Every Friday. Of known and unknown artists? Yeah. I mean, there's just so much music out there, which is both incredible, and we love that there's so many people that are creative and that there is new pathways for people to independently release music, all these things. But the landscape has just changed so much. And so as writers, we have to adapt as well. And musicians, you've got to find a new way to cut through.

41:15Will Arnett:And this is, it's 3 ,000 to 5 ,000 now. And then in a couple of years, you're going to have all the AI groups releasing stuff. Exactly. These labels will probably just have certain groups that are fully AI, right? How do you feel about that? This one goes out to my mother.

41:35Will Arnett:Have you played around with, like, just get like a first draft of a song or like whether it's lyrics or melody to see what AI can give you just on a first pass that you then would change to make your own? I mean, any kind of art I think AI, I hear, can give you a first sort of pass at it as opposed to, because the hardest thing is creating something out of nothing, right? So about 25 years ago or whatever it was, 30-ish years ago, probably not that far back. Let's call it 25. I don't have the exact facts. There's the introduction of autotune into the music making process. Tell Tracy what that is.

42:20Before that, there were little tricks you could do to basically take the pitch of a singer and just bring it slightly back in tune so that it just sounded better. And then there's compression, which is another tool that's used. So as modern music making, much like film and TV, started using the technology available to them, it evolved, it changed, and it became a part of the process to where now hearing a song without autotune to your ear would probably sound odd or just slight pitch correction. Rough. Rough or unfinished or raw. Or more real. Or more real, exactly. My thing as it relates to the AI conversation and the creative process is that it is inevitable that this thing that is available to everybody will be used in some way and there will both be good and bad examples of how it's used.

43:21But I believe that the lived experience, the human experience cannot be replicated. And certainly, you know, songs about dogs sniffing each other's butts in the park could only come from great minds, human minds. Right, right.

43:40But it's a really interesting conversation because it's happening, you know, in the circles I run in LA with other songwriters and, you know, and screenwriters. And it actually, and this isn't to bring up the thing, but I have this movie coming with Paul Rudd in June, which is all about my character basically, effectively as an artist. He's a sort of former pop star, boy band artist who is at a crossroads in his career. He wants to go to that next level. And he meets Paul in a happenstance situation at a wedding that Paul's wedding band's playing at. and basically I steal. I like it already. I steal this song from him and it becomes a global smash.

44:27Sean Hayes:Oh, wow. And he doesn't get the credit. And then he comes after you? And he comes after me. And it's a really fun movie. John Carney's the director. He's one of my favorite directors and Paul's incredible in the movie. But the basic kind of like hook of it is always had me when I first heard the logline and then when I read it, I was just blown away. But it asks the same question, I feel like, that some of the AI conversation asks, like what is this idea of ownership, of truth and accountability and all these things? And I'm excited for people to see it because it will leave you with a lot of questions.

45:00Yeah, I love that. I love that. That sounds really good.

45:03Sean Hayes:I think we all, they're all, everything around this topic feel like just open-ended questions because we just don't know. And we don't, we're all trying so hard to figure out where it's going to end up. and we're spending all our time just spinning our wheels going, what's it going to be? Is it going to be good or bad? Is it going to be this or that? And I guess we just, that's the frustrating part. We have to kind of surrender to we don't know yet, you know? Yeah. What kind of, I'm curious, what kind of music do you listen to? Yeah. Like if you, if I were to turn on a playlist that you had right now, like what's the kind of stuff that, and I'm sure it varies, like everybody, like you go through phases and stuff.

45:44Sean Hayes:but do you have any kind of like specific genre or something that you always find yourself going back to or artists that you really? I have a few. You know, I've got, I make playlists that are themed. So I'll do like a Nepo Babies playlist and it's anyone that's related to another famous musician. That's funny. And it starts a good debate of who is the more famous musician of the two, which is a fun one, or great songs with key changes. So when me and my friends get together, We sit down, have a couple drinks, and we all pass the phone around and add to these playlists. Oh, that's fun. That's really cool.

46:20Yeah, it's a fun game to play with your friends if you ever want to do it. And then outside of that, Django Reinhardt is a gypsy jazz guitar player. It just really puts me at ease. And it's always playing in our home. Along with my wife, Priyanka, is Indian. And I've learned so much about the Bollywood film scene and Indian film as a whole. and the music from those movies and really come to love it. So that's, those, you know, those are kind of my tent poles. We'll be right back.

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49:36Sean Hayes:And back to the show. This is such a hard one. I don't know how I'd answer it. Who's your favorite? Do you have a favorite band of all time? Yeah. Favorite band of all time? Oh, I know what yours is, Will. What is it? It's Built to Spill. Built to Spill is up there, but it's not number one.

49:51Will Arnett:Oh, is it? What's the French? The Spence. The Smiths. Fusion band, do you love?

49:58Sean Hayes:Is it The Smiths? Smiths is my number one band of all time.

50:00Will Arnett:I love that. What about your French fusion? What's it called? The French-Canadian fusion band that you just go twat on and on about. No, he's not French-Canadian. Oh, Bon Iver. Bon Iver, he's not French-Canadian.

50:14Sean Hayes:He's from Wisconsin.

50:15Will Arnett:That's close. It's close and it's a French name.

50:18Sean Hayes:Bon Iver is amazing, right, Nick? Do you love Bon Iver? I love, love. He's incredible. He's great. Justin Vernon and those guys. I think I turned you on to them, Will. Sean Carey.

50:27Will Arnett:I mean, I was an early adopter.

50:29Sean Hayes:Sean Carey, who plays with, when Justin Vernon, when they were doing Bon Iver, Sean Carey's got a beautiful voice in the two of them. There's a version, if you want to... It means good winter, so... It does, but without the H. Just seeing. There's a song, they released, they did it live in a studio, and you can go look at it on YouTube, and it's Justin Vernon and Sean Carey on dueling pianos, and they're doing Bon Iver's. I Can't Make You Love Me. It's one of the most incredible performances. JB, make fun of it as much as you want. You never understand it. Okay? You have the heart of AI. You have the heart of AI.

51:06Sean Hayes:I will not love it. Jason, as I was saying, Jason has the personality of a Waymo driver.

51:15Sean Hayes:But you, Nick, check it out. Check it out. Those guys doing I Can't Make You Love Me. It's absolutely heartbreaking. but I want to know his answer I know what's your favorite band if you had to I mean the Beatles you know of course okay sure okay and then the Bee Gees I love the Bee Gees there's a band called Switchfoot that we love they were really influential for us they had an album called The Beautiful Letdown 2003 it's like San Diego I like that you know sort of kind of like just a rock kind of, it's that punk pop emo rock thing that we'd love. But yeah, the Beatles, I think, number one.

52:01Will Arnett:Sean, you got a favorite band? Well, The Smiths is really, really, really, really high up there, but probably Depeche Mode or Erasure or New Order. All the European synth pop of the 80s and 90s, I listen to it every day still. Bronski Beat, Erasure. Yes, all those. What's the best concert you've ever seen? Me? probably Depeche Mode Depeche Mode JB, best concert you've ever seen

52:27Sean Hayes:JB, and favorite band Radiohead I think the best concert I ever went to was like 1985 and it was the Violent Femmes and the Pogues and the Double Bill Wow, yeah Where'd they play? In Toronto Toronto. Yeah, I grew up in Toronto. Great concert city. Is it a great concert city? It is. You know, one of the most asked questions on a golf course when I'm playing with some guys that I don't really know is always, what's the best city to play in? Yeah. And so it's Toronto. Yes. Mexico City. Montreal, great concert city. Great town. Barcelona. Wow. And Brazil. I mean, anywhere in Brazil. Like, it's just, wow.

53:18Sean Hayes:Listen, shout out to Toronto. I just want to say to all our Canadian listeners, we love you so much and our friends at RBC. Wait a minute, but Nick, by the way. Not a paid ad, not a paid ad. Nick, I'm from a little tiny town called Glen Allen, Illinois, and you played at the Village. Shout out, it's just a NetJets trip away. It's a NetJets trip away, okay? NetJets, it's the easiest way to get around. You know, but wait. Did you guys go to the Masters this year? I did not. I went last year. Yeah. Were you there this year? No, I missed it. I'm up in Vancouver right now, speaking of Canada. Is that right?

54:01And I couldn't go. But my brother Joe and I, we first went to the Masters back in 2017, 2016 or 17, whatever the Sergio Garcia year was. I think it was 17.

54:13Sean Hayes:Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then we kind of made a tradition of it. We would go on Saturday night or Sunday morning and do Sunday. Well, it's a tradition unlike any other. And, you know, speaking of that, Jim Nance, he's kind of been a family friend for a while. He's come to a lot of shows with his daughter. They have like a connection of coming to our shows together. It's really sweet. And she's now, you know, married and it's a beautiful thing. Anyway, he let us come into Butler Cabin and watch his intro a few times. And, you know, I was there the year Tiger won, but I missed it this year. And I think I've seen you from afar at Masters one of the years I went.

54:58And just one quick golf story, and sorry to bore you. No. I did this. We're all in. I did this commercial with Jordan Spieth for AT &T.

55:11Sean Hayes:AT &T, yes, yes. Yeah, and as a sweetener for the deal, they were like, hey, we're going to get you on to play on the Monday after the tournament. Ooh, right after. So I got to go and play Augusta.

55:26Will Arnett:How'd you score? How'd you score in those conditions? So I'm not playing to it now, but at that point I was a seven. Wow. And the conditions were brutal. But I shot at 84. Very good. That is really good. Did you play their tees? No, no, they had us up.

55:43Sean Hayes:JB, don't be, that's a dumb question.

55:45Will Arnett:Well, I mean, I don't know things.

55:47Sean Hayes:I went and embarrassed myself. I went with the Manning brothers about a year ago, just over a year ago, and I really stunk up the joint. I finally kind of got it together, but I really stunk up the joint. Well, you got to see it. I feel like they could actually be like real working actors now, the Manning brothers. They're very funny. Peyton Manning, he knows this. I've said it. I've embarrassed him many times. He's the greatest working athlete, former athlete actor of all time. Yeah. We're diehard Giants fans, so we had a couple great years with Eli. We love Eli, too. We love Eli. Legend.

56:21Will Arnett:Sean, you okay?

56:22Sean Hayes:Yeah. Sean just tuned out more than ever. He's still coming off his high from last night. He had a campfire. I don't know if you knew in Hancock Park, that old campfire. Campfire for one. I was going to ask you, because I was listening in before we jumped on. How does that work? the campfire outside in California?

56:43Will Arnett:No, it's in the oven. When I made my snore? It's on the stove. Oh, okay. I was like, that seems really dangerous. Or if the gas is shut off, he'll just go in the sauna, as Will explained. Yeah.

56:54Sean Hayes:So you're just standing there jackassing it over an open flame in your kitchen on the stove. Yeah, absolutely. And are you eating standing up? Absolutely standing up with a big glass of milk. And then make the next one. That's right. And your fingers are now sticky. Totally. all over the place.

57:10Will Arnett:I'll bet you've got the phone. I bet you're scrolling through your Instagram while you're eating next to the stove. No, I was listening to the Smiths actually last night. Were you really? Wait a second. You're listening to the Smiths off your iPhone alone in your kitchen making s'mores over your gas range. That's right. That's right. Fuck you. I'm just gonna start crying. Fuck you. And you're in slippers and like pills. Yeah, I'm in slippers. Totally. It's just disgusting. I was just disgusting. Wait, Nick, we do have to get you.

57:36Sean Hayes:You have to come play golf with us. I don't know if you heard, Jason's leaving, so we can't play for a while. Until August. Have you guys had Kevin Hart on the podcast? Yeah. We have. We have, yeah, on the live show. So he's, you know, newly obsessed with golf. Is he? Yeah. I just finished up on the number three, Jumanji, and he was literally scrolling, you know, just watching golf videos and practicing his swing with like this contraption. It's like a thing that simulates like a golf. I don't know. It was very cool. I find it on eBay.

58:11Will Arnett:Was this over in Hawaii? Hawaii and some in LA as well. And so in Hawaii, you played some yummy courses, I'll bet. Don't say yummy. I didn't have a chance to. I brought my daughter out with me and my parents. My wife is shooting in India, so I brought her out. And I did the dad stuff. We did like the dolphin, swimming with the dolphins. Nice. I took her. They're at the Kohala Hilton. Yeah, I think so, yeah. And they have a Disney hotel. And so, you know, she went and met Moana and all. It was great. I sacrificed the golf for the dad. Talk to me about India. How is India? I've never been there.

58:54Will Arnett:I haven't been there. I'm desperate to go. I'm so desperate to go. You got to go. You should bring the podcast there and do it. It would be massive. We should do that. Do an episode there. That's a great idea. Smartless goes to India?

59:06Sean Hayes:I watch a little bit of Indian, this is true, Indian Premier League cricket from time to time. Oh, yeah. And there's this new kid he plays. I forget what I'm saying. Yeah, the IPL. This kid, he's 15. He's like this total. On the Indian team? Yeah, he plays for one of the teams. No, he plays. Well, I don't know if he's playing for the national team yet. He's playing for one of the teams in the IPL right now. This kid is having, I actually watched the game where he was out after one run. but this kid is like an absolute sensation. He's 15 and everybody else is way older. Yeah, he's sensational.

59:38Will Arnett:I love cricket. Do you think the audience is hanging on to this particular section about the Indian Cricket League? I don't know. You think they're fucking tuning in? In India they are. Let me tell you something, Arne. How old an audience is something? He gets that.

59:51Sean Hayes:Jason just straightened himself. Well, yeah, you should go to India. So Priyanka's been shooting this movie. By the director of it did RRR. was his last film. Oh, sure, sure, sure.

1:00:04Will Arnett:Yeah, that got a lot of great notice. Yeah, big Indian kind of epic film, and she's not done a movie there in about eight years, so it's a big deal, her return. You know, she did 80-something movies before she started. No way. That's great. Yeah, it's an enormous industry over there. Over 80 films? Over 80 films, yeah. She's 75 years old, Will. Oh, my. It's a fascinating thing, though. The way in which the Indian audience reveres their film talent, their stars, it's unlike anything I've ever seen before. And it's obviously an enormous audience, over a billion people in India. And then globally, the reach is so big.

1:00:52And there's a bunch of projects that are really starting to make a huge impact globally now as well, which is exciting to see.

1:00:58Will Arnett:The culture there, I hear that weddings are a major thing. Yeah, sure. Did you guys have a bit of an Indian wedding or no? We did. So we were friends for about a year before we started dating. And then once we started dating, it all happened very fast. We just both just kind of knew. So, you know, first real date was in May. And then by July, we were engaged. and married in December the same year. Wow, wow. That's awesome. How did you guys meet? We had a mutual friend who kept saying, you know, you guys will really hit it off. I'm going to connect you. And he never did. And I got frustrated waiting.

1:01:41And I saw a billboard of her on Sunset Boulevard for her show Quantico. I was like, you know what, fuck it. I'm going to see if she follows me on Twitter. And she did. Wow. And so I messaged her and we went back and forth for a bit. We met for a drink, just kind of casually in New York. And it took a year or a year and a half for us to really say, all right, let's separate the time in our schedules to just give this a go. Go on a date and see what happens. So we did, and it was literally instant, and we both just kind of knew. So flash forward to the wedding, we decided to do it in India, and we were scrambling to find a place to do it because we had spoken to Priyanka's mother's pundit, her spiritual guide and astrologer, and they had said that the best window, the most auspicious window would be in December.

1:02:38Wow. So we're like, all right, we've got to find a wedding venue. And she showed me this video of this commercial that she had shot at this place, this palace in India. And she was like, there's no way this would ever be available. When I shot here 10 years ago, I said, I want to get married there someday. And so her friend who was with us, her best friend and her best friend's husband, he's like, let me just cold call them right now and see if they're available for these dates. And he stepped out of the room and he came back about 10 minutes later. He goes, they're available. It's the one weekend this entire year that they have available for a wedding.

1:03:12Wow. How crazy is that? So we did what's called a Sengeet ceremony, which is the first night. Basically, it's a really fun tradition where the families, the whole thing is about not just the couple, but introducing the families and integrating them together. And there's the spirit of competition that comes along with Indian weddings. So you basically do a performance and you battle, and the family that wins the performance is the more dominant family. So on her side, you have her, a global Bollywood icon and Hollywood star, along with a bunch of her cousins and other folks in her family who are also Indian film stars.

1:03:53And then on our side, you've got the motherfucking Jonas Brothers. And our friends and family. And it was epic.

1:04:02Will Arnett:It's like a song competition, dance competition, both? Like a show. I'm not even kidding you. It was like a 45-minute show. Come on. Wow. She crushed it. Her side crushed it. And then we came out and I walked out. Because, you know, they did what the actors do in Indian cinema, which is that there's a playback singer, it's called, or an artist, but then the actors on screen in character lip-synced to the song.

1:04:31Sean Hayes:Right. Although it's a different singer. Right. So they did that, and I walked out and got on the mic and said, you know, we have one thing. It was an amazing performance, and you all crushed it, and we're humbled and honored to get to go after you, but we have one thing that you don't, live microphones. And then we started. Oh, wow. Wow, that's great.

1:04:49Will Arnett:Is there a strategy to going first or second? Like, did you guys flip a coin to see who would start? We didn't flip a coin. It just kind of happened that way. And I'm glad it did because, you know, it put the fear of God in all my friends and family when we were backstage after. And it was like, we got to hold the fucking line. They brought it. Like, now's the time. I've never needed you more. And so we did that. Then basically we did like a Western Christian wedding. Yeah. And then the following day was the Indian ceremony. So three nights. And by the way, that's a short, considered a short Indian wedding.

1:05:29Usually they can go up to, you know, a week or two.

1:05:32Sean Hayes:I was just thinking, I was imagining if we introduced that here in America, sort of the competition element to a wedding. And I'm just thinking of like a wedding up in Massachusetts of two families. I'm like, fuck you. Yeah, you motherfucker. You thought that was trash. That was going to be a fucking, immediately like, here we go, let's fucking, let's kill these clowns. Fucking, you know, total brawl. Rescally quickly. Yeah. Wow. That's so cool. Dude. That is really cool. I can't believe it's already been an hour. Yeah.

1:06:00Will Arnett:We didn't get to much.

1:06:01Sean Hayes:I know. But so much. It's a good, it's always a good sign when you just roll through. Nick, man, you're such a talent, dude. You're such a great dude. Yeah. And I just love what you do and so much admiration for all of it and just continued success.

1:06:15Will Arnett:Thanks for making time where you're there at work, right? You're in your trailer there. Thank you for doing this now. Of course. And I'd love to come back next time with the bros too. Yeah, come on. We'd love that. We'd love that. That would be dope. We got to play some golf, you know? We got to get it all done.

1:06:28Sean Hayes:Yeah, let's get it all done. Thanks for having me, guys. This was awesome. Thank you, Nick.

1:06:32Will Arnett:We can workshop the dog play too, you know? Okay, you know what? That's it for Nick, okay?

1:06:36Sean Hayes:Jason, we're good, okay? Somebody cut off Jason's mic. Thank you, Nick. Thank you, guys.

1:06:42Will Arnett:Thanks, buddy. Nice to see you again. All right, pal. Good to see you. See you later. Bye. That's Nick Jonas.

1:06:49Sean Hayes:Wow. That is Nick Jonas. Yeah. What an impressive dude. Yeah, when I saw him backstage with Golden Globes with Priyanka, it was just us three. We were chatting for like, you know, like a half an hour. It was great. It was so cool. Do you think they rolled their eyes after they walked away from you? Yeah, absolutely. Who doesn't?

1:07:06Will Arnett:Who the fuck is that? Why is that guy talking to us? This guy is so cool. Why do they let such random people backstage? He goes on and on. I don't care. Cooking s'mores? He's wearing slippers to an award show? He's wearing caju, by the way. That sounds like a dream. He's wearing slippers. But it's very admirable that he is, you know, just thriving and incredibly relevant and working like a dog. And, you know, he's made that transition from child star to adult. Yeah. I mean, and started on Broadway.

1:07:36Sean Hayes:Actually, I didn't even mention that. He and I years ago went to a hospital here in Los Angeles around the holidays. and visiting with all these kids who were sick. And he brought his guitar and he played songs for all these kids individually. And it was so, yeah, it was so moving. I mean, it's like... Like he was just giving, he was so generous. Yeah, and doesn't stop with his time like that. Like that or, I mean, going from movie to concert to the recording studio to the... It's exhausting. It sounds exhausting. Oh, oh. Oh, that was it. I thought that was a lead into a body. We both thought you were, yeah, We thought you were leading up to it.

1:08:13No, but they do have a song, a title called Goodbye. It's an album or a song or something. Yeah.

1:08:27Will Arnett:We've got to give you a quick lesson on how to do the bye thing. Well, there's a song called Bloodbugs. I will say this.

1:08:34Sean Hayes:I will say that like his, you know, he like he's got the music and the acting and all this stuff. And so like how does he decide how he's going to with his career, how he's going to go like to buy for Kate. Those two talents.

1:08:55Will Arnett:Buy for Kate. This has got to be the worst part of every episode. Smart.

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