Hour 3:  Justin Herbert Toughs It Out, Straight Outta Tomlin, plus Actor Tony Goldwyn In-Studio

24:15Rich Eisen:Maybe you could get Bill Belichick, Steve Belichick on. Let's get Steve and Bill and his son. Yeah, you're on the list. I would do your show. I have teenage kids, but I do work with children. Does that suffice? We'll see if we open up the lens a little bit. What are you complaining about? We're grown men. We're in our 40s. I take my own snacks to the airport. That's true. You get it stuck in security because they need to look at your sandwich. A kid would do. One battle after another that hits your desk or that hits your agent or something. What did you think of when you saw that script for the first time?

24:54Oh, well, you know, Paul Thomas Anderson, who wrote and directed that film, he's one of the bucket list directors you want to work with. He's one of the greatest filmmakers ever. And so, you know, when I got a call saying they were interested in me for this film, it was kind of like an immediate yes. but I'm talking to Paul when I read that script it's just so entertaining I mean as entertaining as that movie is when you see it reading it was like being on a rollercoaster ride and also there's this whole sort of kind of subversive social commentary in that film and the character that I get to play Virgil Throckmorton is just absurd and it was so much fun and doing it with Sean Penn who whom I'd known for a long time and admired forever but we hadn't been able to work together.

25:40Rich Eisen:When did you first meet him? How did you first cross-basket him? I met Sean. On the set of Night Stalker? No, it was not. No, it wasn't that early. I think that preceded Sean's career. But we met, like, I don't know, just through the Hollywood community, through sort of social activism. And then we had mutual friends, you know, and so we met socially and stuff. Right. That's all. But, I mean, I'm just wondering how a Paul Thomas Anderson script reads. You know what I mean? because on the screen, it's just such a vision that obviously he puts into it. I'm just wondering how he jumps off the page.

26:14As I said, some of Paul's films are very esoteric, and you think I can't imagine how reading this. One battle after another was so entertaining to read. Like I said, it felt like a rollercoaster ride. So the experience of the movie, while dazzling, it had the same feeling as a read. It was like you couldn't stop. I felt like I read it in half an hour, and it was a long script because the movie's... Right. You know, over two and a half hours, and it feels like it's 90 minutes. Yeah.

26:43Rich Eisen:And again, it's been nominated for nine Golden Globe nominations. Yeah, it's had a good week. It came down yesterday. And it's won the Gotham Award, and it's won Critics' Choice Awards. It's award season. I think you're going to be hearing more about it. Yeah, for sure. How did you get involved with Ghost? Was that your first movie? Ghost was not my first movie. It was my first big part in a movie. Okay. I'd been you know, I'd been acting for about five or six years by the time I fought my way in for an audition for ghost My wife Jane who's I mentioned as a designer She's on scenery for movies a production center, right?

27:14Her career she's a few years older than me So she her career was already blowing up when I was still struggling as an actor So she'd done a bunch of big movies and she was the production designer on ghost and she kept coming home at night going You know, they haven't cast the the bad guy in the movie and I was like, Jan, I can't even get my agents to get me an audition. And she kind of kept on me, and I think she whispered in the ear of the director, like, you know, my husband's an actor. And I finally got an audition, and then I got lucky, and it worked out.

27:42Rich Eisen:My husband would make a great Carl. That's right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So that was magic. Yeah, normally you don't, I guess, go ahead and nominate a loved one for somebody for playing such a character like that. Such an evil character. You know? Love that movie. I see that in my husband. You know, it is so iconic now. At the time, what was it feeling like to you? At the time, it felt to me like I was so grateful to have a job. Pretty much. And thrilled that I had such a great part. It felt while we were doing it that we were doing something that was super special. I remember when I read the script, I thought, God, this movie could be really commercial.

28:24but you know at that time you know you never ever know if something's gonna work um you know it had been a while since patrick had had a hit uh same with whoopee you know she obviously was a big star but maybe the past few movies hadn't necessarily been huge to me was relatively unknown and i was completely unknown and you just never know and that movie there wasn't much awareness of it but i remember we had a sneak preview of the film uh where they do and it was days of thunder was opening and that was their big movie paramount's big movie right and they piggybacked ghost uh with days of thunder like so days of thunder was at eight and ghost was at 10 and they did sneak previews with audiences to give a love days of thunder had okay attendance uh the 10 o 'clock showing of ghost for some reason was packed i don't know how i don't know how audiences smelled it out but from the first screenings of it people wanted to see this movie yeah and and i would tell people about it they go ghost what is that i haven't heard anything about that but audiences smelled it that poster i'm that image of patrick and demi there was like you know this romantic image of them and people just wanted to see that movie and then it was a huge hit overnight yeah i

29:34Rich Eisen:don't think i've ever heard of pottery making being something so romantic that's right exactly like that was that was a newfangled thing yes or erotic i mean the the idea of the movie as well was just a beautiful thing also. And it just hit on so many levels. How tough was it to be a bad guy around Swayze, who is like one of the sweetest human beings, right? Do you have a good story about him with you and being a young actor on that set? I do, I do. Such a sweet story about Patrick. So Patrick was such a beautiful man. But he was compulsively late. He could not be on time for set. And one day he was like an hour late to set and he was, he was so anxious about it.

30:20And he, he knew he was so late. So he rode a Harley to this paramount lot where we were filming to try and dodge traffic. Cause he, you know, but Harleys are loud and he gets to the security gate and the security guards wouldn't let him in. They were like, Mr. Swayze, you're not allowed to bring a motorcycle onto the lot because of the noise. And he said, I'm sorry guys, I'm late to work. And he ducked down and went under the barrier and they were chasing him down the, you know, He went down the lane at Paramount, and he got to his trailer, and he ran inside and locked the door because he was embarrassed.

30:49And afterwards, we were sitting around talking. I remember Demi and I, and he saw the security guards come, and he was telling us the story, and we thought it was hilarious. And he goes, excuse me one second. He goes, and he runs over to these two guys, and he apologizes to them. And he was like, I know. I'm so sorry I did that to you, and I know you guys are just trying to do your job. And they're like, well, Mr. Swayze, it's fine. You know, it was okay. We knew you had to get to work. but that was just such a perfect example of Patrick. Like he, I think they were like a block away and he ran down to apologize to them.

31:17Rich Eisen:So just as a followup, uh, he'd left the motorcycle on the other side of the gate or he took the motorcycle down and drove his motorcycle. Oh my God. It's like a stunt man. The secure, like a stunt man. Yeah. And then rode down and they were like, so he felt bad and he went and, you know, sought them out and apologized to him. Either way, just like either you're leaving the motorcycle or you're going underneath. You're not getting through. Yeah. He was going over on. I would love to hear the security guard perspective of that story. Like, they're just sitting there, normal day. Here comes this maniac on a motorcycle.

31:48Wait, it's Patrick Swayze. Where are you going? Yeah, right, right, right.

31:51Rich Eisen:Well, yeah, exactly. Do you run into people who think you are, in fact, the president of the United States? Has that ever happened to you? That's the weirdest thing. People call me Mr. President still every day. Come on. I don't know if anyone's actually thought I was president, but I do that as a regular thing. Hello, Mr. President. Hello, Mr. President. I mean, you have played, certainly in this century, one of the more famous presidents of the United States. Yeah, that's true. That's true. And people still love that. I mean, one of the great things about streaming television is it's forever new.

32:22That's right. They say, I just finished watching Scandal. I was like, didn't we finish that? See, from 2018. You wrapped that.

32:30Rich Eisen:Almost 10 years ago. I know. I know. And we know Namdi Asamoah. Oh, Nam's the best, right? He's one of the sweetest guys on the planet who's the worst half of Kerry Washington. Kerry Washington, exactly. You know, exactly. He's just a delightful human. But I'm just wondering if people literally— He was a great football player. He certainly was. I know. Have you ever done a sports movie? You ever done one? No, I have not done a sports movie. Think about that. No, not right. No, I have not. Okay. We have an idea maybe for you. Yeah, let's do it. There's a man named Philip Rivers, and he might have a movie needed to be made.

33:05Rich Eisen:Yeah, he's just announced today he's coming back at age 44. Wow. Yeah, that actually happened today. We don't know if he's going to actually play. But yeah, the Philip Rivers story, if you can say dadgummit a lot. I don't know, you're working at Ebola time. Let me try an audition for a dadgummit. There you go. How was that? You're hired again? Okay, great. You're hired, absolutely. Easiest audition. And Law & Order, new episodes return Thursday, January 8th on NBC. talk about an iconic an iconic thing to be involved with yeah that's been fun I joined I think this is my third season I took over for Sam Waterston who retired after many years of being the DA of Manhattan so now I'm the DA it's been really really fun and that's again you're playing it's currently in season 25 which is not a misprint and one battle after another it is in theaters still everyone should check that out I believe it's going to start streaming soon, if I'm not mistaken.

34:04Rich Eisen:And then Far From the Tree podcast, you and your daughter are interviewing folks who are working in the same industry as a parent-child duo. And you obviously know all about those situations. So thanks for coming on, man. I really appreciate you coming on. Thanks, guys. It was so fun. I really appreciate that. Tony Goldwyn here. And you can follow him on Instagram and also Twitter at that name as well. Tony Goldwyn here on The Rich Eisen Show. We'll be back to wrap this show up on Tuesday. set up the rest of our three days here in New York City in a moment.

34:35Rich Eisen:The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.

34:42A bandwagon fan. The biggest insult in sports. But this summer, during the FIFA World Cup, it's an invitation, America. Never watched soccer before? Perfect. Think a corner kick is a karate move? Sure, why not? Prefer sports where players can use their hands? Me too. Just here for the snacks? Now we're talking. So grab a bag of Lays and jump on the bandwagon.

35:05Rich Eisen:We're undefeated. Lays, the official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2026. Rich Eisen here. And summer's here too. And that means it's travel season. My favorite summer trip last year was to Sao Paulo, Brazil. With so many fans traveling for the Los Angeles against Kansas City game, they got to see how lively the city is. I love the culture and the amazing food that I'm still craving. Those memories remind everyone that it's that time of year to plan a little getaway. And that's why summer has a way of turning weekends into big events. One minute, it's a normal week. And then all of a sudden, a huge concert, sporting event, or festival brings people in from all over.

35:43Rich Eisen:And when that happens, visitors start looking for places to stay all across your city. So if you're already planning a summer trip of your own, you could list your space on Airbnb and earn a little extra cash while you're away. It doesn't have to be some big year-round commitment. It's about making the most of a busy weekend when your place would just be empty otherwise. I can tell you, people love finding a place that helps them feel connected to the city that they're visiting. If your city's about to have a big summer moment, this is a great time to maximize your space. Your home might be worth more than you think.

36:17Rich Eisen:Find out how much at airbnb.com slash host.

36:47Rich Eisen:Elantra packed with the latest tech or all electric with the Ioniq 5 or Ioniq 6. So get down to your local Hyundai dealer right now and get away with an awesome deal only during the Hyundai Getaway Sales Event. Visit HyundaiUSA.com for details. Fun stuff with Tony Goldman. Tomorrow's show, we've got Hank Azaria and Paul Rudd in studio. You know Gunther's coming here? I heard. How about that? How about that? We snuck that one in for you. I saw that. I'm excited. You can ask him all the questions you want, sir. He's an intimidating man, that guy. Okay, is that right? Oh, yeah. It's the ring general.

37:23Rich Eisen:Okay. He has the honor of wrestling John Cena and John Cena's final wrestling match this Saturday. Have you caught up on, by the way, speaking of John Cena, have you caught up on Pluribus? I have not caught up. I'm only through five episodes. Yeah, I'm on four. Okay, I gave away a little least. So he's in Pluribus? Not caught up yet. Thanks for ruining that. Dude, don't worry about it. Don't worry about it. Hey, this is just in the Titanic. The boat sinks. Don't worry about it. No, that's not the same. It's not the same. Jack doesn't live. Oh, boy. So, listen. Remember I told you Shador Sanders, his stat line was the first of its kind in the history of the Cleveland Browns.

38:06Rich Eisen:Did I tell you about how Shador Sanders, his stat line in terms of a rookie, was only something that Joe Burrow has done? this, uh, in the Superbowl era and in terms of this century, the only quarterback to have four passes of four, four passing plays of 40 or 50 yards or longer. One of those two, um, in his first three starts of the national football league was Aaron Rogers. So he's done something nobody's done for the Browns. He's done something only Joe Burrow has done in the Superbowl era. And he's done something only Aaron Rogers has done this century. And that is the way I set up the Rich Eisen Show's favorite internet auntie, Jackie in Virginia, back here on the Rich Eisen Show.

38:53Rich Eisen:How are you, Jackie?

38:57Rich Eisen:You there, Jackie? Oh, boy, I gave the whole setup. That was a great setup. Jackie. There you are. How are you, Jackie? This guy was going to have an awesome game. I had already played on it. And his auntie was able to watch the whole game. He did so good. I was just so proud of this kid. You would have thought he was mine. He did really good. I was proud of him. I love Cam also, but I was really proud of Shador. And I can't wait to see what else he's going to do. Because I think he's going to do really good. Jackie, for us to sit there at the draft and watch the manner in which he got drafted, right and and and to say hey at some point cam ward and yes ma 'am you hear us jackie can you hear us hello i'm here i know i know we hear you for jackie unfortunately she can't hear us she'll have to call us back but um again for shador to do what he did um against cam ward if you had told everybody at the draft, say, around the sixth round.

40:14Rich Eisen:Cam Ward and Shador Sanders are going to play each other at some point this season. Because we know the Titans and the Browns are going to play in week 14. Right. And it'll be like, let's just say they face each other. What's going to happen? And the fact is Cam Ward would come out with the win. Wouldn't surprise us, right? But Shador Sanders would account for four touchdowns and throw for over 350 yards. I'd be like, how does he lose that game? Right? Certainly with knowing that Miles Garrett had already taken the bucks and their first two draft choices were on defense also. In Mason Graham and also Swessinger, who might be the defensive rookie of the year.

41:01Rich Eisen:Probably is, yeah. Right? Is he the leader right now? Yeah, he's odds on the floor right now. I think he's going to be. I mean, it'd be tough press to figure out who else will be. But that is pretty amazing. Had, Jack, you been able to hear me in my last follow-up question, your thoughts on him being taken out for the two-point conversion at the very end? Probably wouldn't have gone very well. I don't think so. I don't know if this is a – should I go back to the phone lines? Are we good enough to go back to the phone lines? I think we're done, unfortunately, for those who are on hold. Mike Tomlin, everybody, had his press conference today.

41:34Rich Eisen:He always speaks on Tuesdays in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. And he was asked about being on the hot seat. And that is today's edition of Straight Outta Tomlin. You are now about to witness the strength of street knowledge. Our kicker is a serial killer. Straight Outta Tomlin. You said you understand your role as a head coach when negative things happen. DK after the game said, Mike takes a lot of bullets for us. I'm curious, 19 years into taking those bullets, get rearing at any point for you. It's the job. Like one of those bullets was at the Bells game, fans calling for your job. Did you feel like you were in the hot seat at all last week?

42:16Man, I've been in the hot seat for 19 years. Did you feel like you had something to prove to the fans at all? I always feel like I got something to prove. Not necessarily to anyone in particular, but that's just the spirit in which I go about what I do professionally.

42:29Rich Eisen:Straight out of Tomlin. I love that guy, man. The spirit in which I do things professionally. just as a way of putting things. I know. But I've been on the hot seat for 19 years, he says. That's probably not entirely true. I think what he – But I understand what he means. What he means is basically saying I'm a head coach in the National Football League. It's always something that you've got to do. You've got to live – you've lived week to week. You have to make sure that you survive and advance every single week. And it doesn't matter who you're – Especially with that fan base, man. They – They what?

43:06Rich Eisen:Go ahead and give voice to it. You won sold them sneakers at the, you know. I did. The thing about the Steelers fans is they feel like every year they should win the Super Bowl. You know what I mean? And anything less than that, they are unhelpfully unhappy with. And pick any of these other teams, right? How many of them would love to have a coach who's never had a losing season, and yet it doesn't resonate anymore? You know, Steelers fans are done with that stat. Yeah, yeah. They're finished with that stat. Yeah, like you said, expectations are different. I think at this point in time, Steelers fans aren't expecting the Super Bowl this year.

43:38Rich Eisen:I think if they go anywhere near close to the Super Bowl, it would be a remarkably pleasant surprise. Well, I think the last couple of years, Steelers fans have resigned themselves to the fact that they are just an 8-9, 9-8 team. This is who they are. They're not going to change because ownership doesn't want to change. They have no plan at quarterback. And Tomlin is just another coach. You've pretty much hit the nail on the head, I think. Well, look who at this point in time is leading the division going into the Monday night game to wrap up Week 15 against the 6-7 Dolphins team. I get it, but they're probably going to go 9-8 again, right?

44:18Rich Eisen:Well, they'll be 8-6 after this game if they win this game. I mean, again, the Miami Dolphins are going to be coming into this game on a red-hot win streak, but it's going to be bitter cold. It's not like New York City was any—New Jersey was like a day in the park. No, I was surprised Tua came out as hot as he did against that game against the Jets because traditionally in the 30-degree temperature-wise, he does not perform well and does not win those type of games. Who, Mike McDaniel you're talking about? No, Tua. Well, I mean, again, the way through is A-Chan, who got hurt, but he almost had 100 rushing yards before he got hurt.

44:55Rich Eisen:He said he could have finished the game. Well, guess what? he's going to go to Pittsburgh PA and that is a massive contest but the Steelers 100 % with that win last week have set themselves up to take care of business over the final month of this season you know Tomlin I think his way of saying I have been on the hot seat the last 19 years if I may is he's not going to spike the football because there's still a month to go into season. Rogers kind of did that a little bit though Well, Roger said, well, did you shut you up for a week is what he said, and then kind of shot a look of like, you know, tell me I'm wrong.

45:35Rich Eisen:Right. You know, he gave the international symbol of tell me I'm wrong about that. It's going to be 23 degrees in Pittsburgh at game time. Kickoff. Dolphins, Lions, Browns. Are you strolling in his lane? Yeah, I should have gave that to him. My bad, Mike. Give me the finale. Give me the final four for the – Yeah, you mentioned the Dolphins on Monday night there. at Lions, at Browns, home for Ravens. At Lions. Let me just tell you, everybody, if the Steelers are going into that game at 8-6, and the Lions and the Ravens are right behind them, let's just throw that out there, and it's Roger's last spin in the NFC North.

46:21Rich Eisen:It's his last visit. He unfortunately missed the Bears' visit. and this is his last visit in the NFC North. He is 100 % going to show up in that game just like out of his mind. And the Lions are going to need it too. That is going to be a massive game. Ravens-Bengals this week. Oh, my goodness. Week 15 is lit. Week 14 felt like a playoff weekend, man. Well, it did. There were some heavy hitting. There were some great matchups. Last night's game was sick. Last night's game was, you know, it felt like a fever dream half the time when there was, what, six points and six turnovers in the second quarter?

46:57The Texans, she's felt like a playoff game with the big hits. They did.

47:01Rich Eisen:So did the Bills and the Bengals and so on and so forth. That'll wrap it up for this Tuesday edition of the Rich Eisen Show. Thanks for listening to the Rich Eisen Show podcast. You can watch and listen to the Rich Eisen Show live weekdays from noon to 3 Eastern on ESPN Radio, Disney +, and on the ESPN app. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.

47:27Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same premium wireless for$15 a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities. So do like I did and have one of your assistant's assistants switch you to Mint Mobile today. I'm told it's super easy to do at mintmobile.com slash switch.

47:46Rich Eisen:Upfront payment of$45 for three month plan equivalent to$15 per month required. Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. Default terms at MintMobile.com.