Session 123: Paul Rudd

27:51And you can never predict how these things are going to turn out. I think there was something kind of exciting during the table read that we had of it where afterward, all of us, the whole cast, kind of sitting around and thought, you know, we grew up with those John Hughes movies and those movies were really important to our generation. Wouldn't it be cool to be in a movie that for a generation that this is a movie that they kind of will be able to quote later on and was important to them? But you never really think that will actually happen. And then it kind of happened. Was it like a slow burn after or did it just everything explode and now you're not?

28:26No, it was a bit of a slower burn. Okay. Um, it, you know, I think with cable and DVDs and all of that, it, it was successful when it came out, but it wasn't a smash. And, uh, I think just over time it, it, it, it just kind of hung on. Wow. Yeah. I don't know why I thought it was like a heated rivalry moment for you. No, it wasn't. I never, you know, it, a lot of the things, um, it's funny, I was like, things that I've been involved with had a bit of a slower burn. that have lasted like Anchorman was an, as an example of one that came out and it did okay, but it wasn't until it was out of movie theaters and, and playing on cable that it started to kind of pick up.

29:14It had been out for a year already. Do you miss cable? Well, see it's so, it was such a different time because there was no streaming. There's no anything. I mean, I do miss being able to just kind of turn on a television and flip around. like now it's just there's but you can flip around in a different way now yeah but I just don't I don't I don't ever now I just scroll through everything and I don't pick anything you know what I really love streaming for it allowed me to watch every Marvel movie ever oh yeah you can do it in order that's kind of it's convenient yeah man do you so did you do you miss cable do you miss cable at all or do you like the streaming I miss the runs that they would have like when I was a kid and I was home like I would put on oxygen and I would watch Like they would do like a bad girls club marathon or an America's next top model marathon.

30:02And I would just sit there and I would watch. You guys probably don't even know what I'm talking about. And I would just sit there and I would watch like the whole season in one day. It was a different form of binging. It was like a marathon of something. Yeah. It was called a, yeah, it was a TV marathon. Yeah. But yeah, I do miss that. But now it's nice that I can just pick what I want to watch. Like I'm watching casino for the first time. Oh, the movie casino. What do you think? Well, it's taken me now three times to get through it. So, and it's not to any fault of anyone in it. Clearly, it's an all-star cast and director.

30:35Yeah. Yeah, I'm just like, okay, I need to understand. It's a lot of exposition. It's a lot of talking. I don't really know what's going on. It's like the 70s. I don't understand any of the terms. I don't understand what the fuck is going on. But how many times have you tried to watch it? Twice. I'm on my third now. Right. In two days, granted. Okay. But I was high last night. I'm sorry. I was sitting there like... It's a commitment. It's not a short movie. No. But you know what I do love? That it reminds me a lot of. What? Goodfellas. Great movie. Best movie ever. Fantastic movie. Wait, so tell me about Ant-Man.

31:12Okay. What do you want to know? You wrote the script. I didn't know that. Well, it was originally written by Edgar Wright. Edgar Wright was the director that brought me on to it. And Edgar Wright, he did a movie called Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. He's a great... I know Shaun of the Dead. He's a great director. And he and a guy named Joe Cornish, another great director, wrote this script. And then it went through, he eventually, Edgar eventually left the project. It went through different versions. And then Adam McKay and I came on and wrote a version of it. But we tried to really kind of preserve what Edgar had really done.

31:48Ant-Man's still alive, right? Is he in the new Doomsday? Yeah. You're lying. Are you excited? Have you shot it yet? I have, yeah, yeah. Did you shoot with Louis? I did. I actually met him while we were doing it. How amazing is he? What a great guy. The best guy ever. Yeah. Ever. Yeah. Okay, please forgive me because I haven't seen Endgame in a few years, but I've seen it a few times. Yeah. What did Ant-Man do in Endgame again? Besides save the universe? Okay, so he didn't disappear with the snap. No. You're a good snapper Wow I mean it's not really that exciting Like No I That's actually a pretty good Yes That was a pretty good That was a pretty good one Yeah You do again What How you do it Can you do the

32:55I think I'm nervous I feel like if I was alone I could do it

33:01wait hold on

33:06I can't how you do it how you do it

33:12what like a water like the water

33:18Oh wait, there's the Oh, that's not bad That was good What? That's a water drop Do it again How do you do that? Did you go to improv school? I think, was it? There was a guy on Nickelodeon once Fred Newman He used to do all of these kinds of Sounds and he used to host those game shows and stuff. I remember once seeing him on TV and he went, this is water. You go.

33:53What? I just remembered it. No, we look like idiots. How do you do it? You just did it one day? Yeah. You know, when I was a kid, I was so jealous of all my friends that were double-jointed, so I used to take my thumb and go like this. and I would like force myself to be double-jointed. But now I can do it. I feel like I've can you do the the thing yeah the double-jointed thing was always weird. I can do this. Yeah can you do this where you can bend your finger like why are you full of so many tricks and surprises? That by the way I think I worked on that. I can't do it that much because there's like those other weirdos that just goes like flat.

34:34I can't feel like I'm trying to be like in Marvel. This is what it takes to be in Marvel. Yeah. Yeah. Oh! That's a pretty good one. Oh, wow. How'd you meet your wife? I met my wife actually right after I filmed Clueless. So you just lived such a good life. I was lucky. I met her at a young age. You're like, oh, my career is going well. Oh, wife. Oh, now children. It was a pretty good time. It was a good moment in time for me. Yeah, I really lucked out. It seems like every moment. I really lucked out. Yeah. Yeah. Well, tell me about your new movie, Power Ballad. I watched it last night. You did.

35:12The song has been stuck in my head all day. Yeah, it's an earworm, isn't it? It's amazing. Have you heard the song? What? You haven't heard the song? Have you seen the movie? You're lying. No. It's just work to you. My daughter, they're not interested too much in me. Have you seen Clueless? It's funny. I never showed it to you. I've never shown my kids any of this stuff, but it was one time when you were little. The babysitter showed you. Yeah. Oh! Was she? That's weird. I know, right? I was like, wait a minute. Hold on. She'd never seen anything. You'd never seen anything I'd ever done. Your babysitter showed you clueless without your dad's permission?

35:51Yeah. I was a little bummed out, I'll be honest. I was like, wait, hold on. You can't do that. She'd never seen anything I had done. There was one time I had done this Reno 911 movie. Kind of like whatever. It's my job. This is my life. I'm with my family. But my son, when he was really little, turned on the TV, and this Reno 911 movie was on television, and it was right at a moment when Patton Oswalt is, it's ridiculous, he's shooting me with a machine gun, and it's bloody, and he saw me getting murdered. He was a little kid, and it really traumatized him. He didn't like it at all. Is he, how old is he now?

36:3021. USC was fun, I went to USC. Yeah. Did you like it? I loved it. I had the best time of my life. Was that the first time you went out to California? No, I was born in California Oh, you were? And then I grew up in Washington Heights Right over the Washington Right George Washington Bridge Right Do you remember Okay, I don't know if you remember this Do you remember when What's his face? Who is the very large man who looks ill Not Trump He was like the governor He was the governor Chris Christie Yes And he shut down the The bridge. The bridge. Do you remember that? As a political vendetta. Yes!

37:12Do you remember? Do you know how hard it was for me to get home from school? You got caught up in that? Yes! Oh, yeah, yeah. Yes, and do you know? It actually killed someone. It killed his political career. Well, you know, it killed someone. Someone, I don't know if this is false news that I'm perpetuating, but I think someone in an ambulance died. Because they couldn't get through? Yeah. Mm-hmm. Sounds like ringing a bell. Yeah. Why? Because I think I heard that. Oh, okay. Okay, okay. Okay. I thought you were trying to do something else. I was like. No, I do remember when that happened. It was misery.

37:45Yeah. Yeah, but he did it to fuck with people. Yeah, because he was doing it to get back at somebody who didn't endorse him, I think. Yes. So like a Democrat. What are you watching on TV right now? I just finished last night Love on the Spectrum. Okay, I need to tap in. I've heard it's amazing. It is. I've heard it's just so amazing. It's great. It's great. Everything else that's going on, I'm fairly checked out. My wife watches all the shows, my family. What does she watch? She loved Heated Robbery. Rooster, she's watching it. Oh, I haven't seen Rooster. Rooster's so good. Is it really? It's really good.

38:24Like, laugh out loud? Yes. Okay. Okay. Have you seen Industry? Which one? Industry. I haven't seen Industry. Have you seen Industry? We started watching it. Oh. Is it not? It's the filthiest show on television. What's up with all of these filthy shows on TV? Well, it's about 20-something stockbrokers in London. You can imagine where that goes. I'm more of a love on the spectrum kind of guy. You watch Euphoria? No. I guess you're like, what the fuck for that? Well, I remember when that came out and people said, if you have kids, you should probably watch it. I'm like, oh God. That's not what we were up to though.

39:08I don't think it was, but I, what do I know? But no, I have no, I'd never sit down and start watching a show really. It just, when I do, I like it, but I don't do it that often. Severance. Severance I did watch, yeah. Severance I love. Yeah. Yeah. The best. It's great. When's your birthday? April 6th. Are you in Aries? Yeah. What? Is that surprising? You're so nice. Are Aries not normally nice? They are nasty, nasty people. Okay. Aries are nasty people. What's your rising? I don't know. Your moon? I'm not sure. When's your birthday? When you wake up in the morning, what is the first thing that goes through your head?

39:54Oh, God, here we go. Another day. Really? First thing that goes through my head when I wake up is, honestly, it's like get up, make coffee. and just do the puzzle. Keep away from as much news as possible. I want my brain to wake up and then I'll kind of like start reading articles from the news. Ideally, I will wake up early and I will try and do things that are not kind of current events and stuff right away. I wake up and check my phone Yeah Well I think everyone kind of does that right Yeah but you know it's like Like I go to bed And I get so excited when I start to fall asleep Cause I And I can wake up late Cause then I wake up to notifications That's exciting Yeah You like waking up It's like kind of like Christmas day It's better than Christmas It's literally better than Christmas Cause it's just like how many notifications Just like what did I miss Yeah and you see like do you get like Texts Like do you Are you getting texts?

41:04You think we'd be friends? I don't know. Do you think we would be? I think we would be. I think... Or am I just so kind of like... I think you are a good person. Well, you're a good person. I think that comes across. Oh, you think? I know it's true. Oh, my God. Thank you. Wow, I needed to hear that today. Really? I woke up today and felt like a real bitch. Yeah? Yeah, I woke up and I was like... Do you normally wake up in a good mood or a sour mood? Pretty bad. Most of the time I wake up and I'm like, I want to die. Really? But I wake up, I look at the clock and I'm just like, and sometimes I wake up and I'm like, and usually like people will be able to tell.

41:48Today I woke up and I was like, do you sleep straight through the night? No. Well, yes. I find that something happened several years ago where it's if I would have a glass of wine at dinner, I wake up. I hate, I hate casual drinking. I'm not. Yeah. So I stopped doing. He's over. No, I'll still have a drink every now and again, but, but I'm not a heavy drinker or anything, but I, I don't like, I don't like drinking and going to sleep and waking up and I just, the next day, it's not even about. No, I feel hungover. I'm just like, I just feel, Oh, there. And, and I like when I'm, um, if I can get to sleep early and I have a good night's sleep and I wake up and I'm like, right.

42:26like that kind of ready to tackle the day type feeling. But I find that that is a little more fleeting. And moments in time, sometimes you get so stressed and it's like I wake up and my mind's going 100 miles an hour. I'm thinking of all different things. Alcohol makes it worse. I've been sober for a week, as I've told you. And I was with my friends yesterday who were so hungover. And they looked at me and they go, how does it feel that we all went out last night and we feel so horrible today? and you like feel amazing. And in that moment I was like, I do feel better than you. Yeah. Do you know what I mean?

43:01Like I feel, not better, but like I was like, well, I feel, yeah, I forgot like what it's like to wake up on a Saturday in New York and not be hungover. Yeah. And it's like, it's kind of dying away and you just hear the noise of the world and it just kind of crushes in. Mm. Yeah. What's the most fun night out you've ever had ever? When my wife was pregnant, we were watching TV we were living in the West Village and we were watching I think The Sopranos I've never seen it it's great I know it's a great show I know and so we were watching The Sopranos it was like we were watching it in the afternoon maybe a DVD or something I don't know and all of a sudden I said you want to go to Atlantic City and she said yeah and And we went, so we just walked down the street to the dollar rental, rent a car, rented a car, drove to Atlantic City, didn't have a place, didn't have a hotel to stay at, didn't have a, you know, nothing.

44:08We just went and walked up and said, we'd like to get a room. And they said, well, we're sold out. Like, you know what, here, just take this. They just gave us, these two randos just gave us a suite. So this is incredible. So we go out to the suite and then they come back downstairs and I go and I sit down right, like I've been there for five minutes and I'm playing a video poker game and this guy, the pit boss comes over, he goes, are you here for the concert? And I said, no, what's the concert? He said, Boston. Who's Boston? Boston is a band. They were kind of like a classic rock band. And they're great.

44:53Do they have a hit? I would know. Yeah. More Than a Feeling. Like something like 70s. They were like in the 1976, I think. How does More Than a Feeling go again? More Than a Feeling. More Than a Feeling. More Than a Feeling. Yes. I began dreaming. So anyway, I go, no. I go, when are they playing? And he goes, about 10 minutes. You want to go? and I said yeah so my wife it comes down I said Boston's playing in 10 minutes and the guy just goes here and gave us tickets like house seats we see she's pregnant we see Boston it's an amazing concert we walk out I got past that machine I put in like $20 or something and I hit it and I got like a royal flush shut up I want like a few thousand dollars.

45:53And then we got, and then we went to the suite and, and then we just left. I'm like, okay, that's a perfect, there's, they just kept going. It kept getting better and better and better. And it was an, it was an amazing night. That is so beautiful. There was, I thought you were going to be like, I drank until the morning. Like, no, I was seeing Boston with my eight month pregnant wife. That's really sweet. That's really sweet Yeah Oh my god I love the way you look at life That's the way You gotta You gotta No It's just you know It's about being content Finding those moments And treasuring them You should listen to Casey Musgraves I love Casey Musgraves Do you really?

46:36Yeah Have you heard her new album? I've heard the one song Dry Spell? Yeah Didn't she just do something With like taking also People who are affected by ice And making them I mean come on Yeah She's great That's great She's great. She is just, she is the one that got me into country when I was 12 years old. Yeah. I heard Follow Your Arrow and I said, wow, I did not know country could be about gay people. Country, I love country music. Really? Like old school country music. And then there's some like obviously modern country singers that I think are really great. What do you listen to? Like what do you listen to right now?

47:12What am I listening to right now? What am I listening to right now, Darby? I mean, I guess for mom, you and mom listen to a lot of like yacht rock. and for like newer bands I feel like you like the Strokes I love the Strokes yeah I love the Strokes I'm very excited for this new Strokes album yes do you like the new do you like the new single I do what's it shopping going shopping is that what it's called yeah what is it yeah I do I think it's really really catchy I think Julian Casablanca he's like a crazy great singer that's like a rock star that range is crazy yeah I saw them at Coachella the other week Oh, yeah?

47:49How was that? The best weekend of my life. Really? The best weekend of my life. Why? Because, okay, so I lost 20 pounds, and I could get on everyone's shoulders again because I wasn't too heavy. And so, like, I know, like, you know what I mean? Like, two years ago, like,

48:14I was at the strokes, and I turned to my best friend, and I was so excited. I'm always at music festivals. The Strokes are always there. And I've never seen them before. My favorite song in the entire world, Someday. Greatest song of all time. And they played it like two songs in. And I was on my best friend Will's shoulders. And I was screaming the lyrics. The desert. Have you been to Coachella? No. The desert wind was blowing in my face. It was just like, this is it. Isn't that the first album? Is this it? Yeah. Yeah. That's how I felt. How nice. It was like one of the best concerts, best shows I've ever seen in my life.

48:53Was it that, was, were they your favorite band that you saw while you were there? You know what I loved about it? It was that like, I loved every different performance for different reasons. So I saw like, on night one, I saw, do you know Cat's Eye? No, I've heard of Cat's Eye, but I don't know. They're a K-pop band. Right. I saw them with all my gays and we were having the best time ever. Mm-hmm. Pinky up. Up. Pinky up. what's that that's their dance okay one two one two three but pinky up uh pinky up it was really good and then after cat's eye i saw who did i see sabrina carpenter who was just to die for and then we saw disclosure and that was just like i was like i never want to stop dancing right i just want to dance until my legs fall off was that the first now you've been to Coachella before?

49:47Yeah, and I've had experiences. Okay. Not good. Right. Housebroken. Oof. And then the other times I thought I was like too cool for it, so I was like, I'll go at 11. And then this time I was like, I'm gonna go to the festival. And I had the best time ever. Bieber was just amazing. But then Sunday I woke up and I said, if I don't leave right now, I will kill myself. That's a, it was just time. You knew it was time? It was like no fucking around. If I said we're up, my bags were packed. I said, I'm going home now. And then I got a Benadryl IV and slept for 24 hours. How long did it take to leave?

50:26It was quick because we left on Sunday morning. Oh, and everyone still stayed. Everyone stayed. They want to see Young Thug. Got it. Got it. You ever listen to rap? Uh, not really. I paint you as like a Jay-Z guy. No, I mean, I'm like, you know, my, I would say most of my Taste that I've Most of the stuff that I listen to Is so Kind of It's like stuff like Divine comedy Or Stuff that's old Or bands that are You know not really Not many people are listening to Not because it's like That's so cool Right It's just I don't know Like what's popular Were you going to the Arrows tour though? No? I did Did you enjoy?

51:10I had a great time You took her? Which show did you guys see? She took me. She took you. What show did you guys see? We saw the, well, it was out here. It was in New York. Oh, you saw the New Jersey one? Yeah. I'm so jealous. Do you remember your surprise songs? You don't. No, I bet. Let's see. I know you remember. Was it Maroon? Did you guys get Maroon? You guys got clean. Yeah. You guys got clean and Welcome to New York? Yeah. Yeah. I don't even know how I know that. I wasn't at the show. I was not at the show. Yeah. Where did you film Power Ballad? I filmed it. By the way, how about that? Did you hear that?

51:46I did. Yeah. We filmed it in Dublin, Ireland. Oh, Gorge. Yeah. How was it? Fantastic. I've never been to Ireland. Okay, you got to go to Ireland. Did you touch the gift of the gab? No. You've never heard of the statue that you touch it and then you get the gift of the gab? Oh, the gift of the gab. I think you have the gift of the gab. I think you have the gift of the gab. Really? Of course you do. Thank you. Ireland is the greatest. You will love it. Okay, but let me ask you one thing. Okay. The food. Okay, well, I think, you know, it's a cosmopolitan city now. So are. And so there are great restaurants.

52:24Like what? Like what are some great restaurants in Dublin? That says really I'm put on the spot here. I don't know offhand. You said they had good food. Yeah, there's great places. There's some great steakhouses I went to. Okay, you don't like steak. I hate steak houses. I'll tell you, here's a band that I have never stopped listening to. That's one of my favorites is a band called The Pogues. Oh, I've heard of them. Okay, so that will be where I would veer toward more than anything else, really. And that's very Irish-centric music. Were you excited to film in Dublin? Have you filmed in Dublin before?

52:57I had one time briefly. And I'd been to Ireland several times. It's one of my favorite places on that planet. I mean, a lot of people feel that way. And you never touched the Gift of the Gab? No, I've kissed the Blarney Stone. That's the gift of the gab. That's the gift. So the gift of the gab is kissing the Blarney Stone? Can someone fact check, please, for me? The Blarney Stone at Blarney Castle near Cork, Ireland. Does it give you the gift of the gab? Oh, that is the gift of the gab. Oh, that's the gift of the gab? Yeah. I thought it was a luck thing. Yeah, so. No. Yeah. That I have. Okay. Well, that explains it then.

53:28I doubt it, doesn't it? Yeah. This episode of Therapist is brought to you by Booking.com. Booking.com. Yeah. Okay. So what's important this summer is that ideas come to fruition. And the best way of that happening is when you plan a trip with your friends and it becomes real. The most reliable way for that idea to become real is on Booking.com. Are you following? So Booking.com is the easiest place to book a place to stay for travel. The only reason I went to Vegas, I was able to go to Vegas with all my friends, is because we used booking.com to book our travel. At least with my friends are so specific about what they want.

54:12I want a tub. I want a shower. I want a tub and a shower. You can put all those needs in on booking.com. And it's officially summer. I would go as far to say that it is officially summer. In tonight's episode, I talk with Paul about planning a trip to go to his house and perform karaoke. How can I plan that trip without booking.com? The trip becomes full circle with booking.com. Find exactly what you're booking for at booking.com. Booking.yeah. Book today on the site or in the app. What drew you to the script? Well, the script I thought was great, but really it was the director. Have you ever seen any of John Carney's other movies?

54:57I've seen Once. Okay. Once is great. I'm lying. You love it. Okay. So, so once is terrific. I know. I've heard. And then he did a movie called Sing Street. I know, but I've heard once is to die for. Yeah. There's just, there's something, there's something I think with John Carney's movies, all of them that are hopeful and the music is great. And there's something so kind of joyous and celebratory that I love. I love them. And I love, they're so kind of inherently Irish. Is he Irish? He is. Carney. And I'm very drawn to things that are Irish. And so. Are you Irish? No. I would love to be. Are you Italian?

55:46No. British, my parents are both from London. Oh. Yeah. But I've spent time in Ireland and I just, it's just a magical, amazing place. And I think that there's something about the mix of kind of the music, the locations and the spirit with which John kind of makes these films. I was so excited to work with him. And I had done, there was this script, Power Ballad, was written by a guy named Peter McDonald who's in the movie. He's the guy who plays Sandy, my friend. Oh, the friend that you were very mean to? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. And. Oh, he wrote it? He wrote it. And he's a great actor. And he's a.

56:31I actually had worked with him briefly in Ireland one other time. So. What was it for? There was a show called Moon Boy. Okay. That the actor Chris O'Dowd created. And I did an episode of Moon Boy. And that was the only other time I'd actually ever worked in Ireland. So does John Carney. Did he write the song in the movie? Yeah, John is a musician as well. Got it. And he was in a band called The Frames. Actually, in Once, Glenn Hansard is the guy. And they were friends. They were in a band together. And so John was a bassist. And music is such a part of who he is. But he started really getting into filmmaking.

57:16And so he somehow kind of straddles the line of musician and filmmaker, even though he would say, oh, he's a filmmaker, but music is so important to him. And it runs through every film that he's done. And he even directs like a musician. It was really kind of a cool thing. You know, we would be, we'd show up at work and there would be a three-page scene that we're supposed to do. And he'd say, nah, I don't think we'd say this. Well, let's try something. And it would be some sort of improvisation or some kind of new thing. We'd say, let's follow this and let's go like this. and let's explore that.

57:54And it felt like being a musician in a studio and it's like you're coming up with some cool chord progression. And he would kind of trust in that and there was this vitality and life to the way he works that I just loved. And so I think that it was like, yeah, the appeal of working in Ireland with him, music is important to me too. And it was a really challenging thing because I do stuff in that movie that I've never really done before. Like what? Well, just like kind of the singing and music and the guitar and all that kind of stuff. It was all this, I'd never really. Did you have to play actual guitar?

58:32Yeah, but it's not, it's like, that's not my, it's not my thing really. And so it was kind of scary and a little nerve wracking and exciting. I was excited to kind of tackle it all. Did you take vocal lessons? No. You just did it? Well, you sound amazing. Well, thank you. I just did it But you know I would say I'm such a karaoke enthusiast That Are you? Yeah What's your karaoke song? I do it so much I have a karaoke song Because I have a We have it at our house You have a karaoke machine? I have a karaoke We have a I have a pub in my house What? An Irish pub in my house And it has karaoke on it So people come over And sing all the time I want to come over for karaoke Alright I'll be there Alright Right.

59:20Don't play with me. What do you think, Darby? Can I come over for karaoke? Of course. You're always welcome. I want to actually come over for karaoke. Please. What do you want to sing? Shallow, obviously. I mean, obviously, we're doing shallow. Obviously. What's your karaoke go? Do you like karaoke? Okay, so I don't really do it often. Yeah. But when I do it, I feel like it's always fucking shallow. It's fun. What's the most fun you've ever had on a job, ever? the most fun i've ever had on a job um anchor man was really fun i love you man was really fun i love that movie that was really really fun one to do uh wet hot american summer was very fun because we were it was like at a summer camp and it felt like being at summer camp um but i think a lot of the comedies are a blast because it's it's i just have been able to work with some of the funniest people in the world and it makes going to work such a joy did you go to when you were acting school did you study comedy or was it something that just came naturally no i didn't i didn't my i always loved comedy and i loved comedians and i used to watch snl and i thought oh that'd be so cool to be at second city or something like that but i actually studied theater and i was not a comedy what was it like hosting snl for the first time surreal yeah really uh it was i was so excited how old were you i was 30 38 39 30 yeah um and i i was where i was it was a little it was a little weird because it was just two weeks after my my dad died yeah so it was like okay he knew i had weird things going through my head, which is like, my dad knew I was going to host SNL and he was very excited for me.

1:01:14And now it's happening. And, but, and he's not here. And so it was like kind of wrestling those thoughts with, Oh my God, I can't believe I'm hosting SNL. I've wanted to do this my whole life. I've been a fan of this show. And so it was such a mix of so many feelings. And, And then on top of it all, just kind of sheer terror. Yeah. Because in a way, it's like, oh, yeah, it is live. You just fuck a bad thing. You kind of put it aside, and it happens so quickly that people say, like, okay, just know that it's going to fly by. Don't forget to enjoy it. You know, I was getting kind of tips along the way.

1:02:04The musical guest, the first time I hosted was Beyonce. Shut up. Yeah. Who hosted SNL with Beyonce? Yeah. Wow. Yeah. And so that was crazy. And also, she was in a sketch. Do you remember the SNL sketch, like the famous one where she had all the single ladies that they redid? Yeah, yeah. So that was my first time I ever hosted was that show. Oh, wow. That's a very famous sketch. I know. I remember watching that when I was a kid. Yeah. So that show was the first time I ever hosted. And it was one of those kind of, oh my God, this is really, really happening. It was a total thrill. Do you think it helped with your grieving process at all?

1:02:48Is that a weird question? No, not at all. It's, I don't, yeah, I don't know if it helped or hurt or anything. It was just another thing that was, you know, it's like when you think back sometimes into the past, you think in terms of just these kind of generic like, oh, that was a while ago. That was a while ago. Like when I think of the very first time I hosted SNL, I think like that was a few weeks after my dad died. It like puts it puts a weird time in history. Like I can I I have an understanding of when that was. and so it makes me kind of recall it in a different way and uh and it was it was it it was exciting like i i was so sad obviously and yet that was so it was so much fun to do that show so i suppose in some way yeah it helped i could not think about it for a while you can't really think about anything while you're doing it.

1:03:46It's therapeutic in a sense. But it's all kind of wrapped up together for me. Wow. And what project were you promoting at the time? Role Models.

1:04:00Yeah, that was it. Who else was in that movie? It was... Because I saw it at the time. Yeah, it was Sean William Scott, the other guy, and then Christopher Mintz-Plasse, this kid named Bobby J. Thompson, who's hilarious. Jane Lynch was in it. My friend A.D. Miles was in it. Joe LaTruilio was in it. A lot of... Ken Jeong was in it. Yeah. I remember having to actually beg my dad to let me see that in theaters. Oh, really? It was that. I would have to beg him to see that. It was like that and like Bridesmaids and all those movies that were coming out. Yeah. At that time was a very big time at the box office for comedies.

1:04:42Yeah. Right? Yeah. Am I remembering correctly? Yeah, you're remembering it. Absolutely. It was. It was very exciting. Judd Apatow was behind a lot of those. Not role models he wasn't. But it was kind of, yeah, a lot of people go into the movie theaters and watching comedies, and these were the things to see. And to be around that and be a part of that was really cool. It was a really good age for comedy. Was Amy Poehler on SNL back when you were hosting? No, she had just left by the time I was hosting. Do you remember who was on the cast? Yeah. Well, Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader and Will Forte, Jason Sudeikis.

1:05:23Wow Yeah Yeah Wow That group What a life You would be great At hosting SNL Is it It's your dream You really think that Or are you just saying Not to say that No of course I know it would be true You would You're funny And you would thrive In that I think like you I think that you Step up to the moment Tell me more I think you I think that you Don't I think you accept a challenge. I think that when you see an opportunity for kind of something to celebrate or go for it in some way that I think that it is inherent in probably in who you are. I'm guessing. I think that like when you did the show, did you have so much fun doing the show?

1:06:14So much fun. And I would imagine like when that came about, you were nervous. Sure, but probably like, oh no, I'm doing this. this is something this was like you you were there was no second guessing none right yeah yeah there you go oh and also like that that you know that oh here's the interesting thing the very when i first hosted uh one of the head writers simon rich no way yeah yeah did you see all out no and i didn't see you do it because and the reason why was when you were doing it i was away the entire time working on a movie written by Nathaniel Rich, Simon's brother. And is that movie out yet?

1:06:54No. Well, of course not. You filmed it in December or January, whatever. Yeah. Wow. So I was in New Orleans. Kind of kismet with us. A little bit. Okay, do you want to do the Tell Me What's Wrongs? Yeah. Are you familiar with my stuff at all? Yeah, I am. I've watched, I watched, by the way, well, first of all, my daughter has always been like, okay, you, you, look at this, check this out. Like, oh, he just did talk with Nick Jonas. I did. Yep. And so then I kind of went down the rabbit hole a little bit and I was all excited. Also, I saw the very first episode with Bejeweled and I saw Bejeweled.

1:07:37You watched the Julia Bejeweled episode? Yeah, but I was also like, oh my God, he's doing an entire episode on Bejeweled, which is a game I have on my phone. I'm like, oh no, it's a different Bejeweled. Wait, I'm dying. Do you know how nervous, I was more nervous to film that first episode than I was for anything ever. Really? Ever. I think it was the first time Nolan and I had met in person. I was so anxious. I didn't know what to talk about. I kept screaming at Julia, my best friend. Like I was just, do you remember that? I kept making like weird Mormon jokes that we had to cut Like I went on a whole tangent about Mormons And we had to cut it Louise was like why would you say that about them I was like I don't know I don't know what to say It's really a nerve wracking thing you know Once you just start talking Was it something you're like I know I want to have this podcast This was a goal or did it just Like how So I was kind of at like a crossroads yeah the sack was on strike yeah and i had i was like i really wanted to act there was nothing going on at the moment um and i had quit my job and i was like a podcast would be fun and it seems low pressure enough yeah and my manager zach was like you what you shouldn't expect to see any growth until you hit the two-year mark if you're consistent with it for two years then you will see growth.

1:09:04And to my surprise, it happened far quicker than two years. And now I'm speaking to you here. Did you always, you always want to be an actor? I love acting. I was just in my first movie this summer with Lewis and it premiered at South by similar to power ballad. And I just find it to be the most rewarding thing. You had a great time doing it. I had the best time. My favorite thing is like, if I make a joke or find like riffing and then you hear like Video Village laugh, it's like the best feeling in the entire world. I love hearing, everything always came from like me trying to make my friends laugh.

1:09:43Yeah. So then if I'm like making people laugh, it's like that's the most rewarding. I'm with you. I feel the same way. Yeah. When you were kind of growing up, what were some of your favorite things? Did you like comedy more than other things? My favorite movie was Bridesmaids. but my favorite movie of all time is Devil Wears Prada. I just find it to be like a Bible of how to live life. We had this conversation on the way over here, by the way. You did? What's your favorite movie of all time? My favorite movie of all time is Step Brothers. Step Brothers? What's your favorite movie of all time? Boy, I don't know if I have a favorite movie of all time.

1:10:18One of them is a movie called With Nail and I. It was one of my favorite movies. With who? It's called With Nail and I. Okay. Yeah. But there are so many movies that I, it's an impossible question. I just love Bridesmaids taught me how to be funny. And then the Devil Wears Prada taught me to never quit my job because it was hard. Have you seen the Devil Wears Prada? Yeah. Several times. What do you think about her leaving in Paris? What's your take on that? When she tosses the phone in the fountain and it's like, fuck this, and leaves. I think it's essential for the film. I know, but do you think it was a good decision?

1:10:55No. You're working for Miranda Priestly In runway Yeah You feel like she She needed to stick with it Just a little bit more I just think she had more More in her than she thought Like she thought she watched Miranda Priestly Yeah Kind of Fuck over Stanley Tucci Yeah And she was like Well that could happen to me Yeah And it's like well it could But Andy had so much potential in her That I don't think she would ever let that happen to her. But what would she be sacrificing in her personal life? Everything. But as Lady Gaga once says, your career will never wake up and tell you it doesn't love you anymore.

1:11:39Mine did years ago. No, it didn't. These are the tell me what's wrongs now. I can't wait. Okay. My friend keeps trying to get me to go on a trip with her, but she just gets so drunk whenever we go out. And I know it would be just signing up to babysit. I want to plan more trips for the summer without hurting her feelings, but I don't know how to tell her that she would be a terrible travel partner.

1:12:02That's kind of a dilemma, isn't it? You have to say you're an alcoholic. She's a straight-up alcoholic. I mean, if you're babysitting your friend every time you go out, yeah, that's alcoholism. Well, it's like every single time. It's like, come on. And if you're taking trips, what kind of trip are we taking? Are we taking someplace? We're going to learn something historical. So what you'll learn now quickly is that we don't have contacts usually with any of these questions. There's no contacts. So we kind of just have to like go off our gut instinct. My gut instinct is telling me you're up. Yeah.

1:12:33Here's the thing. If this is bothering you so much that every time you go out, your friend is drinking and it's making it miserable, that you're going to write in a question about it, then you already know your answer. It's going to be a nightmare. And then they'll look at you and say, no, I won't do that. And then what do you do then? Friendship over, huh? Life is hard. It really is. How do I deal with someone who literally is the biggest manipulator and pity party? Me. My whole friend group goes through phases of hating her. Me. But they always fall for victim complex and go back. Me. I am the only one who calls her out and it frustrates me so much.

1:13:07How do I deal with this without seeming like the confrontational one? Yeah. Oh, gosh. Life is short. You know, it's I think that if this is if if you really care about somebody and this is what they're doing. and you're confronting them, which he clearly is, or he clearly is, and it's just getting to be too much of a drag than spare yourself. And do what though? Her whole friend group goes back to them always. And then if they're - Yeah, I think you just kind of like, all right, friendship maybe takes one step back. So maybe you need to make new friends entirely. Or just be like, all right, can you hang with this and just kind of ignore it?

1:13:45Don't take any of this - You can't ignore that. You can't. Well, if it's making you upset, then every time you go out, you just like, you know, you got to, you might need to dump the whole group. That's what I'm thinking too. Just take some break, make some new friends, go on a run club. You run? On a treadmill occasionally. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I do. I'll bike. You bike? I totally see that for you. No, you know, that was a real thing. Like this idea of getting real cycling. Like there are those guys that go like all through like NIAC and all that. I'm not that kind of cyclist Oh speaking of cyclists Do you watch true crime?

1:14:26Like in general? Yeah I mean I've seen some true crime Do you care about true crime? Not really You gotta watch the show on Netflix right now Should I Marry a Murderer? That sounds so unappealing to me Let me give you a hint Cyclist Okay Dead That's it Go in with that So that's the teaser? It is actually crazy. Has anyone seen it? Do you want me to tell you? Yeah. She basically, like this woman is like so down bad. She's had this horrible breakup and meets this guy on Tinder. She goes, like he's a little bit of a drinking problem. You know, she's like he's a little bit of a drinker. But he's like this like hot like welder.

1:15:14What does he do? Something with his hands? Oh, he's a farmer. No, he's not a farmer. Is he a farmer? He's on a farm. It's like on a farm. He does handiwork. So it's hot to her. Okay. He proposes to her, right? Proposes? Yeah, he proposes after a few weeks or months, whatever. I forget. And then he proposed to her, and then he drives. That's not funny. It's horrible. And he goes, he's like, keep your phone in the car. I have to tell you something. She goes, okay. and he goes one time I was really I drunk drove home and I drove over the cyclist and we buried him and she was like like what and then so they go home and she's like and then they fall he falls asleep so she's googling this cyclist has been missing for years years so she's like oh my god what do I do what do you think she does she continues with the relationship she's like well he's supposed to come for Thanksgiving dinner what am I supposed to do and she like does she bring him to Thanksgiving dinner it's crazy you should watch it

1:16:26it's crazy and it gets crazier from there she stays with the guy and it's like oh my god and everyone's watching it's probably like oh my god fucking turn him in but she was like I told the funniest part of it is she's like I told my parents about him so what am I gonna do and it's like what you told your parents about him so you have to bring him for Christmas dinner even though he's a murderer. And the best part is, the best part is, I was always wondering, you know how in true crime shows they show like found footage and it's always like, and it's like the girl, the VHS cam. It's now like videos of them with like the doggy Snapchat filter.

1:16:58Have you noticed that? So it's like, like it feels like kind of the new generation of true crime. Do you know what I mean? Yeah. Like all her videos are with a filter. All her Snapchat videos with him they all have a filter on them. It's the weirdest thing. That's so crazy. Like it's, you don't care. No, I do. I do. I can't. Like I'm following this. This is interesting and I do want to know how that plays out. Me too, but I'm in the middle of casino as you know. Yeah. And I have to finish that. Yeah. Well, that's going to take a while. Three hours. You know though. I don't. You got to sit down and just go, all right, I'm going to do it in One Fell Swoop.

1:17:42It's not a huge commitment. I knew you were going to say One Fell Swoop. You just synced up so hard right there. I was like, he's about to say One Fell Swoop. See, this is the thing. It's like, you know, that was never even a consideration back in my day when you would watch a movie. It's like, oh yeah, no. Because you actually had to go to the movies to see it. It was like, all right, I'm going to watch it and then it's done and it's great. Or even if you're watching it on HBO or something, it's like, oh, it's great. But now it's like we stop and you do it in segments and it's, we've lost something.

1:18:12Have you ever walked out of a movie? Yeah. Have you? No. Do you like scary movies? I love scary movies. What's your favorite scary movie? My favorite scary movie, the one I've been the most scared at was The Conjuring 2. Okay. Just because there's a scene, a good jump scare isn't a jump scare where there's like a lead up to it. A good jump scare happens out of literally nowhere. And there's this insane jump scare in the conjuring too. But I would say my favorite scary movie of all time. What's yours? I do really like the shining. Yeah. That is good. Not one of your favorites. I think it's good.

1:18:53Right. I didn't frighten me. Yeah. Well, I like, I mean, I'm like jump scares. I'm kind of like, um, Oh, the ring. I love the ring. Yeah. Well, yeah. Yeah, and the Ringu, the original. Yeah, the original. I've heard it's terrifying. Oh, man. That movie's really scary. There's another movie called Audition that was really terrifying. I love the Purge movies. I've seen every single one. I just saw a hokum. Me too. Oh, you did? It's amazing. Yeah. I thought it was very scary. Yeah. You want to know what my favorite TV show, scary TV show of all time is? What? The Haunting of Hill House. I've never seen it.

1:19:34Oh my fuck. It is unbelievable. Really? The director, Mike, do you know who Mike Flanagan is? No. He does the Haunting of Hill House, the Haunting of Black Manor, Midnight Mass, which is also amazing. But the Haunting of Hill House, I was very scared. I was very scared, but it was very moving. And they, do you listen to Gregory Allen Iskloff? Oh yeah, not a lot. I know who he is, but yeah. They have a great needle drop. with him in the final episode that ties it up. It's just the best show. It is one of the best shows I've ever seen in my life. Okay. You have to watch it if you're down. Yeah, I am.

1:20:12I'm like, I'm not a huge scary... It's very scary. It's like very scary. But yeah. I was, there was a movie when I was a kid that scared me so much. I'd say like the shining, scariest movie that I've ever seen. The scariest movie that I've never seen was a movie called Magic. And when I was a kid, I went to a movie, and they were showing previews, and they showed a preview of this movie Magic with Anthony Hopkins, and he's a ventriloquist, and he has this dummy. And there was something about the puppet that was so scary looking to me that I freaked out. I couldn't watch it. And then going home that night, I remember as I had to sleep in my parents' room, I was like, really.

1:20:58How old were you? I was like 30. I was probably like, I don't know, like eight or nine or something. Nine maybe. And then one time, like a week later, I was up in my parents' room. I was watching TV. They were downstairs, and the commercial for it came on, and I freaked out. And I ran downstairs. I'm like, I saw it. I saw it. And my dad said, all right, we'll go turn the TV off. I'm like, I can't go up there. I couldn't go up there. And he's like, God damn it. And he said, he had to go turn the TV off. And it started an evening of complete meltdown. Because I had a lot of fears when I was young.

1:21:47Really? What else were you scared of? I was just scared of it. This thing was like, I think, capped it off, though. And then I think after that, my mom took me to go talk to a therapist. Oh, you have great parents. Yeah. But no, I was scared of like, there was a moment in time when I was, I think about five, I needed everything taken out of my room because I was just scared of stuff in the dark and I was scared of things on the wall. No. Okay. Sorry. Just wondering. No, no, no. I think I just, yeah, I think I had some, I think I was fearful as a kid. Yeah. I also had many fears. Really? I've realized now I have health fears.

1:22:26like my high blood pressure today I'm like gonna be you do you understand when you if you ever take a look do you have Instagram no okay if you ever just like look at my Instagram later I'm going to post about my high blood pressure and it is going to be my bit for the entire week that I have high blood pressure and my dad is going to call me freaking the fuck out that I have high blood pressure and it is going to ruin my week did you have like a physical I had an IV I got an IV okay Have you ever gone and someone's come to you and given you an IV? Yeah, like a B12 or something like that. Yeah, one of those.

1:23:02Yeah, yeah. And I've never, every time, great blood pressure, great blood pressure, great blood pressure, great blood... High. It was high. Well, this might have been a fluky thing. I don't think... But I haven't drank in a week. It doesn't make sense. Did you try and do it again? You've only done it once. Three times. And all three times they said it's high? It was yellow. As if I had a fever. I was like, what the fuck is going on? But three times in the same day? Yeah, I just, literally right before you got here. Oh, okay. I don't think you should worry about this. I think you should, you get to test it again.

1:23:40I'm, color me worried. You're hypochondriacal. Yes. Extraordinarily so. Always? Yeah, but it's weird because the other day I saw something leaking out of a plane as I was about to get on it and I was like, fuck it. Like. Like one time I was on a plane and they couldn't get it working. And by the third time they go, there we go. And then they took off. And at that rate, I'm just like, well, if you know, take me. That is so healthy. I know. But then it's like high blood pressure will send me into psychosis. Okay. As fans of the show, is this a good episode? Yeah. Oh, period. She said yes so fast.

1:24:21Is it? Because she said yes so fast. Honestly, it's my, because I do worry like, I'm like, oh God. Am I just putting everybody to sleep here? No. How could you ever? You're Paul Rudd.

1:24:33I don't think that I'm that engaging in these settings. That is not true. Too low self-esteem. Not really, but I don't think that I offer too much. That is not true. You're America's treasure. You are. Say you are, Jake. No, you know, many would disagree with that. Okay. Help. I ended up the salutoration of my, what the fuck is a salutoration? It's the, it's, it's, oh, it's right below. Saludatorian. Right below. Valedictorian. So it's like the penultimate valedictorian. Yes. You're so smart. You're so smart. I love penultimate episodes. Those are always better than the season finale, admit. They are.

1:25:21They are always better. Because they are really setting it up. The Game of Thrones penultimate episodes, best of the game. You didn't watch Game of Thrones? No, I didn't. Yeah. Help, I ended up the salutatorian of my class, and now I have to give a graduation speech. I have no idea what to write about. I don't care about any of these people. I don't have the worst stage fright. Please give me ideas. So I've actually never heard of a salutatorian giving a graduation speech. Yeah. Usually it's the valedictorian. But I would say I love speech writing. So if you want to follow up, I will help you write your speech.

1:25:50I love writing speeches. It's my favorite thing to do. When I was in high school, my mom had a printout of my speech next to her computer, and she would reference it every time she needed to write something like a speech. That's nice. Did you take speech classes in school? Just one. And I was just a natural. I was really good at it. It was one of the things I was just, like, really good at. Yeah. I love giving speeches. I can see it. Do you like giving toasts? Yes. Oh, my God. In college, I would literally get up and do a toast every five seconds during the pregame. They would get more emotional, the drunker and drunker and drunker and drunker I got.

1:26:22Are you a toaster? Yeah. Yeah. I like at somebody's birthday or a wedding or something. Okay, pretend it's my birthday. Okay. Oh my God, it's my birthday and Paul wants to make a speech. Everyone, shh.

1:26:40There are...

1:26:48I'd like to make a toast. To the man of the hour, Jake. Jake occupies a very amazing space, which is he entertains us all. He is so funny, but there's a kindness to Jake. There's an underlying, we are simultaneously entertained by him. We laugh at him, but we are. Laugh at him? No, we are a part of Jake's journey. Jake is inclusive. Jake brings us along. There's not many people that can do that, that can carve out such a specific role with such a unique and hilarious and opinionated voice. And so I would say all of us, let us raise our glasses to toast our friend. We are continually honored to be a part of your journey and thank you for bringing us along.

1:27:51I think every one of us is so elated to be here tonight to celebrate you. I've also, I gotta leave by 10. Cheers. Thank you guys. Thank you so much for coming. Thank you. Oh my God. Now back, everyone please drink, please eat, have the best night. I hate Hossain, seriously. That was amazing. That wasn't amazing. I thought that was amazing. I felt it. You know what it is? Here's the thing with a toast. And this is the same thing that the penultimate valedictorian needs to know. You need to come. It's like, all right. Enough that there's going to be some self-deprecation, some laughs. You can go a little far in one direction, but you always bring it back to something heartfelt.

1:28:35Always. And always. And it's nice if you can kind of start off and be a little abstract and funny or whatever. and then bring it back around to like some really, some genuine sincerity. And then on the way out, if you can get one more little kind of treacle cutter, little joke in there to enhance the sincerity and not undermine it, then it's a winner. Well, I think you just won. Ugh. I'm going to be thinking of a toast the entire ride home and think I should have done this, I should have done this. Really? I thought that was just very beautiful. Well, mostly because it was about me, but I really did think it was beautiful.

1:29:15So you, when you were growing up, your birthdays and your birthday parties were never, you never overlapped Halloween and your birthday. No. Never had. I had a Justin Bieber themed birthday party when I was like 10. Uh-huh. And then I always had my birthday party at ramen restaurants. I'm actually now thinking about it twice now. Maybe three times I had it at two different ramen restaurants. Which ones? Zudo in Tribeca And Wagamama in Chelsea Great Great You like ramen? I do I love Wagamama Yeah Wagamama's Wagamama's the shit Yeah Do you eat it when you film in London ever? Yeah Yeah it's the shit Chicken katsu curry Fire Yeah I don't eat that actually very often The chicken katsu curry But I just know that's what I'm like I just get the chicken ramen Yeah the ramen Straight up yeah The spicy the chili ramen Oh that's pretty good The chili ramen's what I go for Yeah Well Paul What did we learn today?

1:30:11I learned like some good shows On Netflix that I need to watch You have to watch The Haunting of Hill House Yeah But right now Just for the zeitgeist of it all Should I marry a murderer You have to This is a thing A lot of people are watching right now It's a big deal It's number one on Netflix Oh really And it's been number one For like more than two days So that's when you know Like people are like And like continuing Because sometimes there will be a show And it'll be like number one And then it'll fall off I think that what I like about Love on the Spectrum is it's so opposite all of that.

1:30:42It's just... Sweet. Sweet. Yeah. Yeah. People really ride for that show. I just think that everything is so bleak I just try and find laughs and happiness in every single way. I just want that. And you bring that to so many people. Well, thank you. It's true. I don't know. Some. Are you bad at taking compliments? Well, clearly, I guess I am. I love taking compliments. I'm the biggest. I say I always have a rod out. I'm always fishing. Yeah? Yeah. I look so fat today, Louise. No, you look... My face is so saggy today. What are you talking about? You look fantastic. Thank you. See? I'm always fishing And I always catch a fish Well Paul Well Jake Thank you for coming on Therapist Thank you so much Did you have fun?

1:31:50I did Would you do it again? Yeah of course Really? Are you asking if I'm going to double dip like Glenn Powell? Yes I'm asking if you're going to double dip like Glenn Powell Sure Okay but the next time we do this Yeah Because there will be a next time Okay In your pub Okay Wow We're gonna go there That's gonna happen? Yeah Alright I don't make plans lightly Sometimes I do Sometimes I don't This isn't a light plan Alright Alright Paul Do you wanna give a little Bye pussies? Bye pussies

1:32:35Thank you.